


Magic and Miracles and BEYOND

by Candyholic85



Series: Magic and Miracles Series [2]
Category: FFXV - Fandom
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, Occasional angst, Rock Band AU, Romance, Smut, Summer Vacation, hospital au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2019-10-20 20:21:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 73,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17629034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Candyholic85/pseuds/Candyholic85
Summary: a collection of drabbles in chronological order of the summer vacation the whole group has and beyond, into the collage years, into marriage, into adulthood, into parenthood and even farther than that- That kind of BEYOND. Is a continuation of Magic and Miracles that is a high school AU/Hospital AU. Where everyone lives, no one dies (for the most part) and everyone get's a happily ever after.





	1. Kick Off and Klienfelds

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND

 

“Ok, do you guys have everything packed?” Sylva asked as she watched Luche, Libertus, Crowe, Ravus, Selena, Nyx and Lunafreya pack everything they needed into her Escalade as Noctis, Ignis, Gladio, Pashmina, Pelna, Yasmine, Prompto, Cindy, Craig, Iris, Stella and Tredd packed everything they needed into two gigantic RV/ tour buses that Sylva had rented them and even got them drivers, since Noctis, Ignis, Gladio and Prompto would be doing a summer band tour. Their music that had been recorded performing for the kids at Miracles had gone viral on YouTube and they got calls to book gigs across the country and with a lot of planning they were all able to make one huge plan together which was really exciting to do.

First the whole group was going to Cedar Point for a few days during the week and then that weekend was Noctis’ and his friends first gig in Pittsburgh, which Sylva and Regis were going to be taking Gladio’s parents and Prompto’s parents with them to come and be in the audience. Then after that, Sylva would take Gladio’s parents and Prompto’s parent’s home and get some work done while Noctis and his group and Luna and her group were going to take a road trip to New York where Noctis and his friends would be doing gigs in between going to Klienfields again for all the girls to pick out wedding dresses and Sylva would be flying everyone’s family and extended family in for that too and then after that Luna and her group along with Crowe and Libertus would be house hunting in New York for when she and Nyx as well Crowe and Libertus would be moving there for college because Nyx, Libertus and Crowe had all got accepted to CIA too before Luche would leave with Sylva to continue working with her while Noctis and his group continued to tour while Luna, Nyx, Selena and Ravus would be going to their first vacation house, a cabin in Maine on the coast to check it out and see if they wanted to keep it or sell it.

And then Sylva and Regis and Luche would be taking Sylva’s super yacht down the coast to follow their kids who would be driving down the coast themselves and even boarding the yacht for some sailing and fishing in Myrtle Beach before they would meet in Miami at Luna and Ravus’ second vacation house before they would all take an extended family cruise on the yacht around the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands and all over the Caribbean for a nice summer vacation then once back, Luna and her group and Noctis’ and his group would continue their trek west, along route 66 on their nation wide food crawl while Noctis and his friends would continue to go on tours and stuff before they would reach the west coast where Sylva and Regis would go and Sylva and Regis would tour wine country and meet again in Ravus’ and Luna’s other vacation house in wine country before they would also go up the coast and then once they got to San Francisco and would go on two more cruises, one to Hawaii and then another to Alaska before coming back and Luna and her group and Noctis and his group would go up the coast to the north wast to Oregon and Washington where Ravus and Luna had yet another vacation house in Seattle before having a nice little trip through Vancouver, Canada before they would make their trips back east where they had another vacation house in Aspen, Colorado and then again in the other vacation house in Montana where they would all meet up again to do some fishing before heading through Chicago then back home in time for Luna, Selena, Stella and Iris as well as Noctis and Prompto to go to their classes for their senior year before Crowe and Libertus would get married that September, along with Gladio and Pashmina and Pelna and Yasmine before the winter where Luna and Nyx would get married and move to New York with Crowe and Libertus, Crowe got into the wine courses that the New York campus had and the business part of it too as well as the best Bar School New York had that was also in New York City.

 

But for now Sylva just went around with a clip board and went over everything with everyone to make sure they got everything and didn’t forget anything as they all answered and made sure they got everything that they needed packed. She had spent a small fortune making sure Noctis and his friends had really good instruments and speakers and stuff and of course plenty of merch and once they were all packed, they got one last family picture as the Ulrics, the Amicitia’s, the Shammas, the Argentum’s, the Lazarus’, the Ostium’s, the Altius’, Tredd’s dad, Stella’s parents, the Khara’s, the Patel’s, the Aurum’s and the Fosters all made sure their kids were all set too before they got one last huge group/family photo before all the kids took off and all the moms started crying before they went back inside to Sylva’s house where Sylva’s kitchen was stuffed with food and wine and stuff as all the parents officially celebrated a nice break without kids, of course, Luca, Luche’s little sister, Crowe’s younger siblings, Lily and Yusuf being the only ‘kids’ that didn’t go with the teenagers but they didn’t mind one bit, the parents were busy talking and gossiping in the kitchen and Yusuf finally worked up the courage to sneak himself and Lily off for just a moment.

“Where are we going?” Lily asked as she held onto Yusuf’s hand as he seemed like he was off to show her something special before Yusuf managed to find a lonely hallway near Sylva’s office and just around the corner and completely out of sight, Yusuf took Lily’s face in his hands and kissed her the way he had seen Gladio kiss Pashmina and kissed her sweetly. Lily made the tiniest of surprised hums and breathed in sharply before she pulled him to pin herself against the wall like she had seen Craig do to Iris on occasion and it was the perfect first kiss for the young couple and their budding romance that Sylva sensed would last their lifetimes.

 

But in that moment, Luna and her group and Noctis and his all drove towards Cedar Point and went out to dinner that night once they got there and then into their hotel rooms, all of them staying in the same hotel, all of them, with some pleading with the hotel manager, managing to get on the same floor even. The next day the whole group took Cedar Point by storm, all of them getting the fast passes to cut all the lines and several times, they all got on the same train for all the rides which made for some epic ride pictures as well as great pictures period, Luche not feeling so bad being the third wheel even though he wished Ada could have come too but Cor was taking her to Canada instead, but they would be meeting up with everyone in New York because Ada wanted and needed to be there for when Crowe picked out her wedding dress since Ada was Crowe’s maid of honor.

 

After that, then when everyone got to Pittsburgh, they all tried to get rooms at a nearby hotel to where Noctis, Ignis, Prompto and Gladio would be performing before Sylva came with all the parents who also stayed at the nearby hotels too. Thanks to all the friends and family, the place was packed and they all cheered super loudly, Sylva doing so the most as she recorded it and was live streaming it to YouTube which got tons of hits and Sylva put Noctis’ band which they named The Chocobros- which was a reference to their favorite video game- schedule in the description. After the show The Chocobros were invited to perform the next night in another club, a bigger, nicer one and everyone stayed and a huge crowd gathered and Noctis and his friends got to sign autographs on the T-shirts themselves and sold out of half the T-Shirts the second night which Sylva immediately ordered thousands more and would be giving them to the group in New York when they would meet up again. Iris, Cindy, Pashmina and Stella setting up a table to sell them since they would be traveling with them all summer as Craig and Tredd would be running “security” and Pelna ran sound and Yasmine was their official ‘manager’ but really she was the best at negotiating pay, tour dates, keeping everyone on schedule and making sure they all stayed safe and after wedding dress shopping and house hunting in New York, Crowe and Libertus would be joining them, Libertus would help with security while Crowe would be running security for the girls at the merch booth to make sure they were taken care of too.

 

When they all finally reconvened in Klienfields, the whole group practically took up all of Klienfields waiting area.

“Moms, Grandma Edie, Grandma Susan,” Ravus began as he stood in front of the couch his mother, Sabrina, Edith and Susan were sitting on once he heard them oohing and awing the bigger ball gowns in the reception area and their murmurs of how Selena would look in them and knew he should step in because Selena wouldn’t necessarily tell them no.

“Selena and I have been looking at dresses on Pintrist and so I mean this with the utmost respect, but you guys need to abandon any vision you have of Selena in a big extravagant ball gown, she wants something simple and something lace and she doesn’t like ballgowns, it’s a summer wedding and she wants the dress to be light and comfortable and she doesn’t want to be a Disney Princess, she just wants to be her ok? For her, bigger isn’t better, whichever dress she wears that she’s wearing the biggest, brightest and most genuine smile, that’s her dress, despite however you personally feel about it, don’t push her or let anyone else push her to get something she doesn’t absolutely love, _tradition be damned_ \- ok? If you have issues or problems with this, you’re _going to talk to_ _me_ about it. The most important thing is that Selena will be happy and she _will not_ sacrifice or compromise any of her own happiness to make you happy, you’ve all gotten your own weddings and they were hopefully what you wanted. It’s her turn to have her own wedding just the way she wants it.” Ravus communicated firmly with them, Ravus standing in front of them and taking turns looking each of them in the eye. Susan and Edith were taken aback by that, Sabrina blinked in surprise as before her face changed into a challenging frown as she crossed her arms over her chest but Sylva just beamed proudly at her son.

“You’re absolutely right, these appointments are all about finding the perfect dresses for the girls, I promise not to push my opinion on Selena, simply support her and give her my stamp approval on her favorite dress which I’m sure she’ll look gorgeous in, thank you for the reminder Dear.” Sylva placated.

“But,” Sabrina began before Ravus turned all of his attention to her. “Can’t she just at least try on, just one ‘Princess ballgown’, I’ve wanted to see her in one of those for 17 years, surely trying _one_ on couldn’t hurt.” Sabrina reasoned as Edith and Susan nodded in agreement with that sentiment.

“Well that’s up to her, but again, I don’t want anyone to push her, persuade her, guilt trip her or talking her into doing something she doesn’t want to do.” Ravus insisted. “Because _**I**_ don’t do any of those things to her and I don’t want _anyone else_ to do those things to her either.” Ravus pointed out and fixed them with a respectful but firmly determined look back. “Any other questions or concerns?” Ravus asked before they shook their heads no.

“Excellent,” Ravus beamed proudly before walking back over to Nyx and the rest of the guys who would be hanging out while their fiances would be doing wedding dress shopping while the brothers would be called back to see their sisters in their dresses.

“Wow, he’s uh, quite, protective isn’t he?” Susan noted.

“Yeah,” Sylva sighed wistfully. “I remember when his father used to do that to my parents. Tell them exactly when and where to get off when they were being overbearing. At least Ravus was respectful about it.” Sylva grinned proudly as she recalled fondly all the times Victor had gone toe to toe with her parents. “Trust me, it’s a good thing, especially when his goal is Selena’s happiness, that’s his driving force behind all his actions, once he has his eyes and heart set on something, he’s quite driven and always accomplishes his goals.” Sylva revealed before they were all shown the largest seating area to sit down and await their consultants. The guys continuing to hang out in the reception area.

“Selena Ulric?” Debbie asked and Selena raised her hand and waived excitedly.

“Hi, I’m Selena,” Selena greeted back happily as they two shook hands.

“And Lunafreya Nox Fleuret- Caelum?” Antonella greeted before she recognized both Luna and her mom from Sylva’s appointment. “Well hello again!” Antonella greeted happily. “Oh my goodness we have another big group today.” Antonella noted when she saw everyone as the other consultants came and greeted their brides and their families too.

“Yeah, it’s a family affair. So this is my husband Regis, I’m sure you recognize our son Noctis and his fiance Ignis, of course you remember Luna, this is Selena, our other son Ravus’ fiance who’s practically Luna’s sister because they’re best friends, her parents, Sabrina and Dorian Ulric, Dorian’s parents, Cliff and Susan Ulric, Sabrina’s parents Edith and Joseph Bakas and who you don’t see is Luna’s fiance Nyx who is Selena’s big brother who’s in the reception area and will be called back for when Selena picks her dress and Ravus of course is with him and Ravus will be called back for when Luna chooses her dress.” Sylva introduced as Debbie and Antonella went down the line to shake hands with everyone as the other consultants got to meet everyone else.

“Wow, ok, well what are you looking for Luna?” Antonella asked.

“Big princess ball gown with flowers and bling and poof galore actually I’ve had my heart set on this Malya Rovaolga gown,” Luna said as she pulled up her saved Pintrist images of the gown she found.

“We actually have that gown and you will look gorgeous in it.” Antonella reassured her.

“And what are you looking for Selena?” Debbie asked thoughtfully.

“The exact opposite of everything Luna said, A line is all the poof I think I can stand, I really like sheath silhouette, maybe mermaid or even trumpet perhaps a fit and flare if the flare part isn’t too poofy and outragious and I’m looking for an all lace gown, now I won’t say no to a tiny bit of bling but I’m really wanting something really simple.” Selena answered truthfully.

“And modest.” Sabrina, Susan and Edith added.

“And is there a price point we’re comfortable at?” Antonella asked.

“Nope sky’s the limit.” Sylva answered happily.

“Well we’d like to stay under five thousand.” Sabrina answered carefully.

“And if Selena falls in love with anything over that limit I’ll be more than happy to make up the difference.” Sylva volunteered as she heard all the other parents give their price points before Sylva piped up and stood up to make an announcement to the whole group.

“Ok, actually, the first figure they all just gave you guys is what they’ll pay for the first part, anything and everything above that, I’ll pay for, all these girls are like daughters to me, so none of these girls has a price limit, I don’t care if any or all of them fall in love with fifty thousand dollar dresses for their weddings and receptions each, I’ll pay for all of it, I want each girl to fall head over heels in love with their dresses and veils and accessories, no matter what the cost is.” Sylva announced and everyone cheered, the girls especially as all the girls bombarded Sylva with hugs and kisses from all the girls because Project Recovery had just hit the market that week and Sylva found herself fifty million dollars richer because of it and was feeling especially generous.

Ada got the distinct feeling that if she had stayed with Luche and was trying on a dress today too that Sylva’s invitation would have been extended to her too and that Sylva herself would have offered to fly her parents here for this too. But Cor was insistent, if not quite adamant that if they were going to get married, that they should do it all on their own and that David’s Bridal was just as good as any other dress shop and she needed to learn to be happy and content with just that and Cor was doing everything he could to save up for an engagement ring for her.

But seeing all the girl’s engagement rings had her feeling jealous, especially when Pashmina and Yasmine were flaunting the fact that Sylva had simply gifted them their large, gorgeous and stunning engagement rings and their right hand rings as Iris boasted that Ravus had given Craig one his father’s engagement rings that he had made for his son before he died because the two were like brothers and it’s because Iris and Craig had agreed that that was so sentimental that it would be her official wedding ring that she’d be getting after she graduated next year but that was why her ‘promise ring’ also from Sylva was as amazing as it was because Sylva was so touched by Iris and Craig’s sentimentality too, letting Iris have any and all rings and jewelry she wanted which she was currently sporting a diamond choker just for this occasion that she’d also be wearing on her wedding day that her parents would be taking home with them so it didn’t get stolen, lost or damaged during the summer.

Sylva’s generosity knew no bounds for her ‘kids’ but Ada felt and knew she wasn’t one of them. Not that Sylva was ever rude or mean or anything like that to her. Sylva treated her politely and in a friendly and kind manner but not near the adoring, loving and fawning nature she did all the other girls and Ada knew why and had made peace with that and knew not to expect it either. Ada had made her choice and made her bed and was now gonna lie in it.

However, since Luche had seemed to improve so much she found herself thinking back on all the good times they had had and feeling regret that she hadn’t been happy and content more then and maybe she should have seen Luche’s wisdom in trying to network that night of Sylva’s wedding and hadn’t needed to be so selfish that she needed to be his center of his attention in that moment in time, Luche always treated her like she was at any and all other times and he was doing it because he knew it would only help him take better care of her, Luche had been really good to her, and even now she was finding that she was drawing comparisons between Luche and Cor and since Luche had started improving and had dropped his problematic behaviors, the comparisons were starting to favor him more and more, even the pregnancy thing didn’t seem to bother her so much, especially once Luche had apologized for that and had explained his very flawed reasoning and had owned up to it all and took responsibility for it- at his own graduation party and that’s what really spurned herself to draw close to him again as a friend and was rediscovering him in a sense and seeing everyone all together like this, she found herself feeling hollow and saddened and regretful that she seemed to be or at least felt like she was on the outside looking in on all of it. All her friends were having the summer of her dreams without a care in the world while she was firmly planted in adulthood and unable to get out of it. Where she was finding out just how important Cor’s career was to him, how she found herself playing the supporting role to that and how doing anything fun was always reduced to how much it would cost and budgeting and stretching every dollar because living expenses were so high and while her parents had tried to teach her about it, now she was getting first hand experience just how hard it could be. Somehow she felt she knew her own wedding dress shopping experience wouldn’t nearly be as magical as this all seemed to be for her friends and that she found herself feeling somewhat sad while also somewhat jealous too but she had swallow all that down and not show any of that. This was about Crowe, so she had to just smile for Crowe’s sake.

“Ok, well let’s get you girls back and into some beautiful dresses,” Debbie invited as she and Antonella brought Luna and Selena back as the other consultants got all the other girls into the changing rooms and talked with them privately to get further details on what they wanted, all the girls taking up a whole hallway.

Once they were out of sight, Sabrina, Edith and Susan as well as all the other mothers all got up and went ‘shopping’ themselves. Sylva sighed exasperatedly and begrudgingly went after Sabrina, Edith and Susan, kindly repeating Ravus’ instructions, knowing Ravus would appreciate at least _her_ trying to reign them in before she eyed a dress herself that she thought Selena would look ravishing in, perhaps as a reception dress and grabbed that before Sabrina, Edith, Susan and Sylva all walked to Selena’s room.

“Yes?” Debbie answered the door.

“We heard what you said but perhaps you could humor us and try these on too?” Edith asked as she held up her choice.

Selena sighed in defeat and decided to at least indulge them in trying them on before they came and hung up their dresses before leaving, Sylva staying behind a little as Sabrina, Edith and Susan happily walked back to where everyone else was.

“Ok, Ravus actually sat all of us down and told us not to do exactly what we’re doing and I’m sorry, I tried to stop them but as you can see they were bound and determined, please don’t agree to these dresses just because they are our picks ok? You have your vision and you should be true to that. It’s your wedding, not ours. Now that being said, I know your family is wanting something very modest for the wedding which is perfectly fine if that’s what you want too but might I suggest perhaps a second, tastefully provocative dress for the reception that you by no means have to do but if you felt so inclined I would love to buy for you whatever you decide.” Sylva grinned mischievously as she showed Selena her pick and grinned wider when Selena’s eyes widened and she ‘oohed’ at Sylva’s pick before Sylva hung it up with the others.

“Ok, I’ll do my best to keep them from interfering any further.” Sylva assured Selena before Selena got up and hugged Sylva tightly.

“Thank you so much for understanding and trying to curb them, I know it’s like herding cats.” Selena thanked Sylva gratefully as Sylva hugged Selena back just as tightly as the two shared a hearty laugh.

“Of course Sweetheart, we love you, we just want to see you happy and that’s all the matters ok? Now get dressed and enjoy this moment. You don’t owe your mother, or me or your grandparents anything. Just have fun and relax and don’t worry about anything, Debbie is amazing and we’ll have no trouble finding you the perfect dress.” Sylva urged sweetly before letting go and left the room and Selena smiled appreciatively.   
“And that’s why I love and adore my future mother in law, supportive but indulgent at the same time.” Selena giggled as she looked at Sylva’s pick appreciatively as she realized she actually really loved it before she looked at the others blew out a breath, trying to decide which one she should put on first.

“Ok, put me in Mom’s pick.” Selena sighed in defeat as she pointed to the dress her mother picked out.

“It’s pretty, not what I’m looking for but pretty,” Selena admitted as Debbie put her into the dress.

“It is, but hopefully they’ll see how unhappy you are in it.” Debbie offered comfortingly as Selena made a face at herself in the mirror.

Luna and the other girls got out at the same time and gave Selena a questioning glace as they all looked at each other’s dresses first.

“My Mom and my grandma’s went dress shopping too. This is my mom’s pick.” Selena deadpanned as she gestured to herself in the dress while giving off an unimpressed if not irritated look before they all looked at Selena in various pitying looks while others quite liked the dress but for themselves.

“Well it’s pretty, not at all what you’re looking for but pretty,” Luna shrugged which got Selena to laugh as all the girls agreed to that.

“That’s exactly what I said!” Selena revealed which got Luna and the other girls to snort a laugh.

“Come on, let’s go out and show them.” Luna suggested.

“You go first,” Selena suggested before Luna and Antonella got in front of Selena and Debbie and all the other girls got in line behind them.

“May I present to you the most bodacious big princess ball gown ever!” Luna announced proudly as she marched up to that podium and let go of the underskirt to let it fall down to her feet as Antonella fluffed out the long skirt as everyone oohed and awed before Luna turned around, her brighter than sunshine smile lighting up the salon. “Tada!” Luna said as her arms gestured to her dress.

“Oh yeah, that’s the dress,” Noctis grinned which got Luna to squeal and clap in excitement as they all nodded in agreement.

“Go get Rae,” Luna told Noctis who obediently got up and got Ravus who after a few minutes appeared as Selena didn’t even bother to hide.

“What the hell?” Ravus asked when he saw Selena and went to her first.

“My mother and my grandma’s went dress shopping just after your talk with them.” Selena deadpanned before Ravus narrowed his eyes.

“I thought I had that handled but apparently I didn’t and I apologize for not being more explicit in our wishes Darling.” Ravus apologized before he went over to Lunafreya and smiled proudly when he saw how happy she was.

“Wow,” Ravus breathed when he saw Luna in her dress.

“That is your dress Lunafreya, does it come with a matching veil?” Sylva asked before Antonella got one of the accessory consultants to find the matching veil. She came back and put the gigantic and over the top veil on as everyone fawned and gushed over the beautiful sight of Luna in her wedding dress.

“Ok, ask her the question,” Regis prompted Antonella as he wiped his proud and happy tears away, knowing that if Victor was still alive, he would have been _sobbing_ by now because of how sensitive he was.

“Lunafreya, are you saying yes to the dress?” Antonella asked excitedly.

“Yes!” Luna cheered happily which earned a round of applause and hugs from everyone but Ravus stayed planted in his spot.

“Ok, now I want to point out something, you’ve all adopted me right?” Luna put to Selena’s family as they nodded in agreement. “Ok, so you’re getting exactly what you want, one of your daughters slash granddaughters got the big princess ball gown and it’s everything I could ever want, now, let’s let Selena get what she wants.” Luna repeated pointedly at Sabrina, Edith and Susan who gave her unimpressed looks back as Luna gathered her dress up and got off the pedestal so Selena could get on herself but stood off to the side with Ravus.

“Ravus, you’re not supposed to see your bride in her wedding dress, it’s bad luck! Now go back with the rest of the boys.” Susan chided.

“And I thought I told you three not to pressure Selena into a big princess ball gown, but what exactly is she wearing?” Ravus turned and gave the three of them a pointed look who looked away guiltily as Selena came forward and Ravus held her hand and helped her up onto the podium but otherwise didn’t move from her side.

“You look gorgeous baby,” Sabrina cooed at the sight of Selena in the big poofy princess ball gown.

“Yeah, but that’s not the same super happy smile Luna was wearing, that’s a polite, doesn’t want to hurt your feelings because she hates it- smile.” Sylva pointed out before Sabrina looked from the dress to Selena’s face and had to admit Sylva had a point as Ravus still refused to move and continued to stare Sabrina, Edith and Susan down.

“It is a gorgeous dress but Sylva’s right, you’re not happy in it.” Susan admitted first. “Don’t even bother putting my pick on, just find the dress that makes you happy.” Susan advised which got Selena to smile gratefully back and Ravus didn’t ease up until Edith agreed and told Selena not to try on her pick either before Ravus finally let up.

“Yeah, it’s pretty, but not the right dress, _**next**_.” Cliff said.

“Agreed, you’re beautiful, but that’s not your dress,” Dorian shook his head no which made Selena blow out a breath of relief and say a silent thankful and grateful prayer that everyone could see she wasn’t happy in it before Ravus beamed proudly back at Selena while she smiled appreciatively back at him for standing up for her the way he did.

“Ok, thank you for indulging me Baby,” Sabrina nodded as she got one picture of Selena in the gown before Selena picked up the dress and happily got off the pedestal and off to the side before Ravus kissed her cheek sweetly before he returned to the rest of the guys, taking Noctis and Ignis with him while each girl then got her turn on the pedestal so all the family could appraise the dresses, all the dads especially choking up and crying at seeing their baby girls in wedding dresses, Clarus doing so the most before all the girls got off and followed Luna back into the dressing rooms. Luna got changed out of her dress and changed back into her regular clothes came out of her dressing room and got Nyx from the lobby since he could sit in for the rest of Selena’s and the rest of the girl’s appointments but Ravus couldn’t resist himself and had found a few dresses he thought Selena would like and possibly love and gave them to Nyx and Luna to give to Selena before they walked back to the dressing room Selena was in.

“Ok so who picked these out? Because these are actually what I’ve been looking for, your mom?” Selena guessed to Luna who shook her head no.

“Are you sure you want to know?” Luna hinted giddily.

“Yes,” Selena nodded as she looked from Luna to Nyx.

“Beavus,” Nyx answered which melted Selena’s heart and made her gasp softly.

“Really? Aww, the man knows me, I love them.” Selena smiled excitedly as she looked them over.”

“And I will be the first to admit that I know nothing about dresses but this one is my personal favorite, it’s the most...you.” Nyx said as he gestured to his favorite one that Ravus had picked out.

“And I completely agree with Nyx, this has to be my favorite too, although this one is really gorgeous.” Luna noted before she noted her mother’s pick. “But again, it’s all completely up to you, you don’t have to pick this just because we like it.” Luna reassured her.

“Thanks, actually your mom picked that one out for me, believe it or not, said it could be a reception dress. But don’t tell my mom or my grandmothers but I actually really love that one.” Selena informed them proudly.

“Go Mom! And don’t worry about it, that can be our little secret, what they don’t know can’t hurt them.” Luna cheered which just made Nyx roll his eyes and shake his head but he knew Luna had a point.

“I take it if you go that route, she’d buy the second dress?” Nyx guessed and Selena and Luna nodded adamantly before Luna and Nyx left and rejoined the group.

“So which is really standing out to you?” Debbie asked.

“This one, their favorite out of Rae’s picks, I love the peekabo back,” Selena decided giddily before Debbie put her in that one.

“Oh it’s so soft too!” Selena gushed as she looked at herself excitedly in the mirror and ran her hands over the lace of the bodice. “And I love the illusion lace at the top and I thought I wanted all lace but I really like how there’s a break here and I know I didn’t want poofy but this just the right amount, I’m actually ok with the little bit of poof, and it’s not heavy, it’s really light and really comfortable.” Selena praised.

“And the sweetheart neckline is perfect for you and the off white/ ivory really compliments your skin tone. It’s a beautiful, very romantic, very classic dress as well.” Debbie added. “And look at your smile! That’s the smile I think your future mother in law was talking about, you’re really happy in this dress!” Debbie smiled happily and knowingly before Selena started to cry a few happy tears.

“He found me the perfect dress.” Selena happily cried as she took a tissue from Debbie and dabbed at her eyes but couldn’t stop smiling her own brighter than sunshine smile, loving how she looked in the mirror as she just knew she had found her wedding dress, she felt like a bride and she felt like herself wearing the perfect dress, not like the dress was taking over and wearing her at all.

“Let’s go show them.” Debbie suggested before they walked out and Selena showed off Rae’s dress to all her friends who absolutely loved it and loved that Selena loved it and everyone oohed and awwed again before Selena revealed she felt like this was her dress which earned a round of cheers from all the girls who hugged and congratulated her before Selena practically strutted back out to everyone.

“There’s the smile,” Sylva smiled knowingly when she saw Selena come back to them in the second dress. Wearing her own brighter than sunshine smile and walking tall and proud.

“She cried tears of happiness just putting it on.” Debbie informed them before everyone started to get choked up as Selena started crying and laughing at the same time again.

“It’s perfect baby,” Dorian cooed as he discretely wiped the tears escaping his eyes.

“It really is, that dress was made for you,” Cliff praised.

“You look like the perfect bride, everything about it is perfect.” Edith cooed.

“I agree, you’re so beautiful baby, this is your dress.” Sabrina cried happily before everyone else gave Selena and her dress their praise and stamp of approval too.

“Get her in a veil.” Sylva suggested again and Antonella left to go get a few different veils that could match the dress.

“And plus if you guys still wanted that grand train look, you can accomplish that with the veil,” Debbie pointed out as she put the grandest veil on Selena and everyone ‘oohed and awed’ again.

“Ok I gotta admit I do absolutely love the veil.” Selena admitted.

“You’re so beautiful Selena,” Nyx cried as Dorian put his arm around Nyx’s shoulders. “Beavus is so going to cry his eyes out when he sees you.” Nyx teased lightheartedly which got them all to laugh.

“He is, you’re going to have to stuff your pockets with as much tissue as possible.” Sylva immediately agreed.

“I have never seen you look more beautiful my Darling Divine,” Luna cooed as she got up and hugged Selena tightly. “You don’t have to tell anyone who picked this out ok?” Luna whispered and Selena nodded in understanding.

“Selena you look absolutely radiant and you look so happy in that dress, you found your dress,” Sylva praised and Selena nodded along and began to sway in the dress, watching it swirl around her in amusement.

“So, Selena, are you saying yes to the dress?” Debbie asked excitedly.

“Yes!” Selena answered brightly and everyone cheered. “But,” Selena began and everyone stopped and stared in surprise. “It was suggested that I could have a dress for the wedding and a second dress for the reception and there is just one more dress I want to try on.” Selena began with a meaningful look and smile to Sylva who returned it giddily. Selena’s family looked at each other curiously but the looks between Nyx, Luna and Sylva were the most telling before Selena left to return to her dressing room.

“Ok, I really love my future mother in law, this is just...this is amazing, I feel like a million bucks in this, it’s still pretty modest but it just hugs my curves just right while still allowing me to move in it and it has just that special something and it has just enough bling in the details and in the lace that I didn’t think I would like but I just...I love it. I really do.” Selena admitted as she tested to her movement in the dress to make sure she could still dance in it.

“Well that and _ **you**_ shine like a jewel in the dress too.” Debbie praised. “And you’re wearing an excited smile in this dress. I think Rae is really going to love you in this and just imagine his surprise when you change into this.” Debbie noted.

“Well I feel just plain giddy in this dress and all I can think is how much fun Rae’s going to have taking it off of me and how much fun I’m going to have having him take this dress off of me too.” Selena giggled which got Debbie to laugh too.

“And that’s the whole point of having a reception dress, Rae is a very lucky man.” Debbie cooed.

“He is but I’m just as lucky, if not luckier because I get to marry him and get to be in this amazing family.” Selena nodded. “OK, let’s go show them.” Selena suggested as she couldn’t help but squeal in delight and outright strutted out to her room to show all the other girls who cheered and hooted and hollered and whistled at Selena dancing seductively in the dress before she went and showed her family.

“Wow,” they all collectively said as Sylva beamed a smile so bright she shamed the sun.

“Yeah, I’m totally getting this as my reception dress.” Selena informed everyone.

“Well how much is it?” Sabrina asked a little warily.

“It doesn’t matter, I’m going to buy this dress if you’re ok with it Selena.” Sylva volunteered to which Selena nodded adamantly to that with a bright giddy smile.

“Ok fine, Ravus is in for a treat.” Sabrina grinned.

“Yes he is.” They all agreed.

“So, Selena, are you saying yes to this dress too?” Debbie asked excitedly.

“Yes!” Selena answered just as brightly and excitedly as she did the first time.

However not all the girls had an easy time finding their dresses. Yasmine was unbelievably picky while Iris had a hard time finding a dress that didn’t swallow her petite body whole before Selena offered the other two dresses that Ravus had picked out for her, Iris falling in love with one of them immediately and how simple yet very traditional it was on her, she didn’t think she wanted lace at all but the lace of this gown had her feeling like a bride- Gladio, Clarus and Rose and Rose’s parents and Clarus’ parents all practically sobbing tears of joy by how beautiful Iris was in it as Iris also got an over the top cathedral veil and added a blinged out belt and it was perfect before she got a reception dress that was shorter, to her knees and blinged out like crazy that was so Iris’ personality that her own parents and grandparents were ok with.

Pashmina and Yasmine were both having traditional Indian wedding dresses for their actual ceremonies, but they were there to find reception dresses that were the traditional white and Yasmine wasn’t happy until the actual designer came over and designed her- her own custom gown that had elements from all three of her favorite dresses as well as something perfectly unique just for Yasmine as her parents rolled their eyes and thanked Sylva repeatedly for paying for it since it was now quite expensive because Yasmine was a Princess in her how right too. Crowe had a hard time finding a dress that was ‘ _kick ass_ ’ but when she found a high low dress that could be customized and once she learned that on the underside, they were willing to add actual camo to the underside and to the belt, Crowe was sold and finally really happy, actually crying tears of joy herself that had all the girls hugging her in a group hug. Sylva and Crowe’s mothers getting up to do a victory dance themselves that Crowe wasn’t going to leave empty handed because they had been sweating bullets because she was picky for completely different reasons. Stella however, was having a hard time finding a dress ‘ _sexy enough_ ’ and Stella’s mom Samantha nearly pulled her hair out because it was a god damn wedding dress, not a burlesque outfit and that Stella wasn’t actually going to strip for Tredd at the god damn alter, before Sylva just huffed, stood up and marched over to a Pnina Tornai that was currently the sexiest dress Pnina had yet to design and brought it over.

“Samantha, it’s Stella’s wedding just let her get whatever she wants and make peace with it.” Sylva very firmly advised at her BFF before addressing her niece. “Stella, this is the sexiest dress in here, I know because for giggles I tried it on when I was here but it was too sexy even for me, if you don’t like the bottom we can customize it until it’s perfect ok?” Sylva offered as she handed the dress over and Stella’s eyes went wide when she realized it was mostly sheer and dripping with jewels before Stella happily took it back and practically ran back to her room with her consultant.

“God damn it, my aunt was right, it’s perfect, except for the bottom, if we could get the bottom of the other Pnina on this one, I’ll be happy.” Stella beamed happily as her consultant blew out a breath of relief before Stella strutted out in the dress, making the Amicitias and their parents and their grandparents, especially Rose and her mother start praying in Spanish and kissing their crosses and rosary and all of them doing the crosses over themselves- that Iris or Pashmina hadn’t picked anything like that as all the other girls who stayed in their wedding dresses watched on, Luna getting back into her dress just so that they could all get a picture of all of them in their dream dresses and Stella had been the last one to find her dress.

“Ok, now, Sylva, you made the best call because this is her dress, she just wants this bottom on this dress.” The consultant said as she went behind Stella to hold up the bottom of the dress in front of Stella in the mirror so Sylva, Stella and Samantha could envision it.

“Ok, yeah, you’re right, it’s perfect.” Samantha finally caved, desperate to just get out of there and grateful that Stella was getting a wedding period.

“So Stella? Are you saying yes to this dress?” The consultant asked.

“Oh I’m saying hell yes! Woo!” Stella crooned as all the other girls cheered before they all got together and everyone got pictures of all the brides to be in their wedding dresses.

However Sylva did notice that Ada herself seemed to be drawn to one of the gowns there and made an actual note in her phone that once Ada left Cor for Luche again, that she would bring her here just to try that gown on for her and to invite her parents and Luche’s mother and little sister for it too. However as everyone started to go through the check out process and Ada wasn’t looking, Sylva stayed behind and snagged another consultant to make sure that dress would still be there for them in 4-5 months time and was relieved when it would be. Sylva however knew that Luche’s mother wouldn’t be _thrilled_ to have Ada as a daughter in law and knew she’d probably have to be the buffer for Linda, Luche’s mother between Linda and Ada but knew of a solution that would make everyone happy before she spotted another dress that Sylva felt Ada would look amazing in for a reception dress and made a note of that one too and made sure it would be there in 4-5 months too.

“Mom? What’cha doin?” Selena asked as she came up behind Sylva and hugged her from behind and set her head on Sylva’s shoulder before Sylva swore Selena to the utmost secrecy and told her what she was doing. Selena being both amazed yet saddened to hear what Sylva saw for Ada’s very near future but at the same time, happy that Luche would get the love of his life back at the end of summer and that he’d get his happily ever after- after all and that they’d be back here so that Ada could have her own magical wedding dress experience.

“So I’ll do my best to discourage him from getting another attachment while he’s with us.” Selena offered.   
“Yes, please, thank you Dearest.” Sylva thanked her daughter as she hugged her tightly.

When it was Sylva’s turn to check out, paying for the remainder of everyone’s stuff, she didn’t even bat an eye lash, in fact she was so all too happy when she did her own check out and simply charged it all to her black card, the one that didn’t have a limit because all her ‘daughters’ and their happiness’ were definitely worth it. Sylva got out of the office and saw Cor and Ada leave, knowing Cor was anxious to get home and get back to his case and all she could do is watch Luche become downcast that Ada was leaving.

Sylva then took everyone out to dinner at one of the best restaurants in New York City. The restaurant dividing the group up where the parents sat at one big long table while all the younger couples sat at another huge long table, Selena made sure that Luche sat in between Ravus and Nyx while the younger kids got their own table too. And the food was some of the best food everyone had ever had, Nyx and Libertus taking notes before Sylva had the chef come out and talk with Nyx and Libertus personally which was an honor they really appreciated.

 

Meanwhile Ada pouted and huffed from her spot next to Cor on the flight home, watching as picture after picture was posted to social media of everyone out for the evening, all of them out to eat and posting pictures of their food while she resentfully ate her airline pretzels that tasted stale to her. She wanted to stay with Crowe longer, she wanted to get to see Noctis and his band perform, she wanted to hang out with her friends and go out to dinner with everyone, to stay at the _freaking Four Seasons Hotel_ with everyone that night and to go house hunting with Crowe the next day but Cor had to work the next day and Crowe had barely had gotten to pick out her wedding dress before Cor was chomping at the bit and pushing Ada to leave to get to the airport to get back home so they would have time to go through security and stuff and Ada felt so rushed and the rushing took her joy from it all, the whole group had gone to one of the best restaurants in all of New York City and Sylva had paid for everyone to stay at the Four Seasons and would be taking everyone who wanted to go to The Met for a ballet and was going to take all the girls shopping for appropriate dresses because all the guys had brought suits, well except for Cor, he didn’t want to do any of that and had only flown them there for the day because he wanted to see Iris get a wedding dress too but while Ada wasn’t into the ballet and Cor was definitely not, she still wanted to be with everyone and get a nice new dress and enjoy the new experience. She was missing out on so much fun damn it! And before she knew it she felt like she was seething.

“What is your problem?” Cor asked as her huffs got his attention.

“I’m missing out! I wanted to stay!” Ada snapped angrily as if that was glaringly obvious.

“Well I’m sorry, but I need to get back and I couldn’t leave you there by yourself.” Cor argued.

“I wouldn’t have been by myself! I would have stayed with everyone else, I would have stayed with Crowe.” Ada argued.

“Yeah, no,” Cor shook his head.

“Why not?!” Ada demanded.

“Hun, everyone was coupled up except for Luche, I’m not leaving you alone with him.” Cor pointed out.

“Oh, like you don’t trust me to be around him? Is that it?” Ada accused.

“I trust you, I don’t trust him.” Cor countered evenly even though he found himself getting jealous that they were talking and starting to be friends again and that worried him and her behavior towards Luche had started to bother him but he didn’t want to start a fight. Younger people always seemed to think that you can be friends with your exes and Cor’s experience had taught him otherwise.

“But he’s gotten better!” Ada argued as tears came to her eyes.

“Why are you crying? Why are we even fighting about this?” Cor asked, now he really was worried if Ada was so quick to defend Luche now.

“Because you love your job more than you want me to have fun with my friends.” Ada spat.

“That’s not true! Quit acting like a spoiled brat! I flew you here didn’t I? You still got to hang out with everyone all morning and we got to go to brunch afternoon, you got to see Crowe pick out her wedding dress. You got exactly what you asked for. So stop this nonsense!” Cor growled.

“Yeah, that was until, we got invited to go out to dinner, and got invited to stay, we could have stayed, Sylva would have flown us home in her jet with everyone else and all it would have cost us is our time. Why didn’t you take Regis up on his offer, he wanted you to stay, he wanted you to hang out with him! Him and Clarus did! The case would have still been there when we would have gotten home, it’s not that urgent. You won’t make any progress in the few days we could have stayed with them that you couldn’t have made in the few days after we could have gotten back.” Ada argued, trying not to cry and failing.

“Look, it just didn’t sit well with me alright?” Cor whispered, not wanting to cause a scene.

“Oh that Regis and Sylva would have paid your way?” Ada sneered.

“Yes and there is no way we could have afforded to go out to eat with them and we definitely couldn’t have afforded to stay with them, there’s just no way, we’ve over extended ourselves just for this already.” Cor explained.

“It was all a gift! You’re not freeloading! If your _ego_ and your _fragile_ sense of masculinity wouldn’t have been upset by them being _generous_ with you, and if you would have had some bloody grace in accepting it,it wouldn’t have cost you a dime, so it’s nice to know that you hold your own ego ahead of me too. First it’s your job and now it’s your ego, what’s next? Sports?” Ada snarled angrily which just got Cor to growl in frustrations.

“Ada! Just grow up already! You are not the center of the world or the center of the universe, not everything revolves around you and you having fun. Get out of that fantasy dream world that you think everyone else is living in because sooner or later reality is gonna bite them in the ass and you’re just getting your bite first.” Cor hissed and Ada just wanted to strangle him, hit him, something. She couldn’t believe she was missing out because Cor just couldn’t accept _a fucking gift_.

Ada just glared daggers at him and just turned and looked out the window as her legs crossed and her arms crossed over her chest as she just stewed about it for a while. She knew she wasn’t the center of the world, she knew that. But Cor had always told her that she was the center of his and she felt and thought he was the center of hers. A sentiment she had no trouble believing or living for that matter...in the beginning, but the more time went on, she had a harder time believing that because while he said that, his actions didn’t always align with that while her own continued to prove true. And Cor had always treated her like an adult, as if she was already grown up, and she loved that about him but there was a line between between that and being blunt, harsh, critical and just plain mean which is how she felt Cor was being now. At least Luche always had been gentle with her emotionally and mentally anyway, and what had felt like babying before, was now refreshingly pleasant. And then her phone went off.

‘I’m sorry you had to go home early, I wished you could have stayed.’ Luche texted her and Ada wanted to cry, she got up out of her seat and went to the airplane’s bathroom and started sobbing.

‘I would have given anything to stay. But Cor needed to get back.’ Ada texted as her teardrops landed on her phone’s surface before she wiped them off.

‘I don’t mean to pry or anything but did you have to go back too? Did you need to work or something? You could have stayed with all of us and Sylva would have taken care of you and made sure you would have gotten back safe and sound and if Cor would have been worried about ‘us’ I would have stayed as far away from you as Cor would have wanted, you shouldn’t have missed out on all of this just because of me.’ Luche offered and Ada just sobbed harder, god damn it, she should have dug her heels in and refused to leave and to spite Cor she would have sat right next to Luche at dinner and would be having so much fun right now. Choosing Cor over Luche so far had cost her dearly and right this second, she regretted it.

‘Cor is allergic to ‘charity’ and you’re right, Cor didn’t trust you to stay away even though I do, I know you would have and I know we would have been fine. He hates the idea of anyone paying his way and all that like it’ll make him less of a man if he accepts help.’ Ada revealed.

‘Does he think less of every guy here? Does he think that every father that was here tonight is less of a man because she chipped in getting all the girls their wedding dresses and for going out to dinner and for going to the hotel tonight or even to the Met? Sylva is just generous by nature and she knows that life is hard and she knows that most of us would never be able to afford any of this but she wants to lesson the sting as much as she can and she genuinely loves everyone and just wants to help and treat us all like family. This is a once in a lifetime thing and it’s a special treat and she’s just trying to make this moment perfect for everyone, that’s all it is, she can easily afford to do this, she knows it means the world to the rest of us. She’s just trying to help. What’s so wrong with accepting help and accepting gifts? Do you think I’m less of man for being here too? I don’t care if Cor thinks that but I do care what you think.’ Luche asked worriedly.

‘No! Not at all! I know that’s what’s going on! I don’t think less of you at all! In fact I think it’s brilliant that you can accept gifts with as much grace as you do! I just wish Cor could too is all.’ Ada immediately reassured him and Luche blew out a breath of relief.

“What’s going on with you?” Libertus and Crowe asked as they had been sitting across from him and watched his facial expression and he was texting under the table before Luche showed them his phone screen. Crowe’s face immediately twisting into an angry snarl.

“Oh he’s dead meat as soon as they land.” Crowe snarled.

“Babe, come on.” Libertus pleaded before Yasmine got a chance to look at it and just shook her head.

“That’s ridiculous and very unfortunate and a damn shame Cor feels that way because it’s literally all his fault that she’s not with us but at the same time...you know what? She’s made her bed, she gets to lie in it now and chances are he’d kick her out if she tried to come back and join us again. She can’t risk it. She’s just going to have to make peace with it. There’s nothing any of us could say or do to change his mind, Pelna over heard Regis and Clarus try their hardest to keep him here and if Cor couldn’t stay for _Regis_ , who he was a groomsman for, there’s no way any of us will sway him either. I feel so sorry for her. I can’t imagine the shoe string of a wedding they’ll have, if Cor won’t accept any help at all? Does he not know that weddings in themselves are just ridiculously expensive these days? Everyone needs help. It pisses me off that he thinks less of every man here, especially my own father and everyone else’s father, how could he even be Regis’ groomsman, does he think that of Regis too?” Yasmine speculated.

“Ok but for Ada’s sake can we just keep this to us now? I don’t want things to get any worse for her than they already are.” Luche pleaded.

“Of course,” Yasmine immediately agreed before Luche gave a pointed and expectant look to Crowe.

“Fine,” Crowe grumbled as she stuffed her mouth before Luna changed the subject to something lighter.

“Yeah but I can’t imagine Ada will stay with Cor much longer if he’s going to be like that. That’s just ridiculous, she’s clearly not _that_ happy with him.” Ravus murmured to Luche encouragingly which did give Luche a glimmer of hope.

‘I just wish there was something I could to help but I know all that will do is cause more trouble and I don’t want to cause you more trouble than I already have because you need a break. All of us wish you could have stayed but we all get the feeling that if we all offered to fly you back right as you land, that Cor would get pissed and either force you to choose us or him and threaten to kick you out or even bring Baxter into this somehow if you chose us over him and we can’t do that to you. It’s really unfair and there’s no way I or anyone else can make it fair to you and we’re sorry. I’m sorry most of all. I would have gladly left and flown back tonight if it meant you could have stayed, you should never have to choose between your love life and your social life and friends.’ Luche texted and Ada just sobbed even harder and hugged her phone. How come Cor couldn’t see it that way?! God fucking damn it, she wished she would have just dumped Cor right then and there and gotten back with Luche that instant because then she would have just dealt with the fallout later. Luche still obviously still cared for her so much that he was willing to give up his own fun if it meant she got it instead. How come Cor couldn’t sacrifice himself for her like that? Did Luche really care for her more than Cor did if he was being that self sacrificing? Oh she never should have left him. If she had a time machine, she would have gone back in time and slapped Crowe for suggesting to find her own fun that night. She would have slapped herself and gone ‘HOE DON’T DO IT! IT’S NOT WORTH IT!’ but she couldn’t. Someone knocked on the door and Ada did her best to find her composure before finally stomping back over to Cor and sat back down and continued to sulk.

“Love...” Cor began, feeling guilty about this and was going to apologize as he gingerly reached out and tried to touch her outer thigh with his knuckles.

“Don’t call me Love, don’t fucking touch me unless you want whatever you’re touching me with to get chopped off and unless the next words out of your mouth are ‘I’m going to fly you back to New York as soon as we land’ without asking me to choose us over them or that you’re going to be making this up to me one way or another, heaven help you- or the biggest fucking apology ever for your ego costing me my social life and making me choose you over my own friends like some abusive boyfriend who won’t even let me _have_ friends because how dare I have a life outside of you, I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.” Ada spat angrily.

“Fine,” Cor returned. She was being impossible and he wasn’t going to cause a scene. Let her stew and be angry if that’s how she wanted to do this whole cold shoulder, silent treatment to him, he could do it too, he had two hands to please himself and his spare bedroom was just fine to sleep in anyway and give her a taste of her own medicine for a couple of days and she’d come around just fine. Give her a couple of days and she’d gain some perspective and he considered himself a patient man.

 

That night Selena laid in bed and stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes as she thought over everything.

“Everything alright Darling?” Ravus asked as he came and got into bed with her.

“Yeah,” Selena nodded.

“Did you get the dress of your dreams?” Ravus asked.

“Yes,” Selena answered as her smile was brighter as she said that.

“But...I get the feeling there’s more to it than that.” Ravus gently countered and Selena opened her mouth to reassure him that nothing was wrong but hesitated.

“Oh no, what is it Darling?” Ravus asked worriedly.

“It’s not about me, or us. I absolutely loved my dress, or dresses I should say, your mother simply suggested I get a reception dress and picked out the most amazing reception dress and I am head over heels in love with both dresses, so don’t worry about that. No, I’m...concerned about someone else.” Selena worded carefully.

“Who?” Ravus asked and Selena took a deep breath and held it for a second before found she had to tell him, but only him.

“Ada.” Selena answered as she exhaled and cuddled up to his chest as he looked at her strangely.

“Well it is a shame things worked out the way they did for her today.” Ravus remarked as he held her close, happy to have her so close again and also happy that Selena wasn’t holding anything back from him and talking to him about what troubled her. Communication was key.

“Well, there’s more to it but your mom made me promise not to tell but I think she’d be ok with me telling you as long as you don’t tell anyone else because we shouldn’t keep secrets like this between us.” Selena ventured as Ravus nodded along with that before Selena told him what his mom had told her but Ravus didn’t look surprised at all by it which in turn surprised Selena.

“Yeah I figured as much myself, when I saw Luche get Ada that tea and when I saw Ada react to Cor being in the hospital I came to that conclusion myself. Cor’s in the hospital all the god damn time because he’s reckless with his life, always has been, always will be and the fact that Ada was the last to know was the biggest mistake Cor made. And today was just a glaring example of how it’s not gonna work out. Did my mom give an estimate on a time frame?” Ravus asked curiously.

“Two months, three tops, Luche and Ada just might get back together by Crowe’s wedding.” Selena answered.

“Wow, ok that’s _way longer_ than I personally gave them, like I gave them to the end of the week but my mom has always done this, she’s nicknamed ‘The Oracle’ for a reason because she’s always right too. _Always.”_ Ravus chuckled. “But thank you for telling me. I will always want you to tell me whatever is on your mind and heart ok?” Ravus offered as he gently stroked her face with his hand.

“It was just...sad because I think all of us could see Ada wanted so bad to be included with all of this but couldn’t be. Hopefully when she goes back to Luche for good and we do this again for her, she’ll have her moment too.” Selena hoped.

“I’m sure she will.” Ravus nodded before he kissed her softly.

“So do you get all oracle-y too?” Selena asked Ravus thoughtfully.

“I used to as a kid, it’s just...a gift that’s always been in my family, I felt like I lost it when my dad died. Luna gained it when I lost it but I think she lost it when Andrew came into her life and I don’t know if she ever got it back. But when you came into my life, I got it back and it’s stronger now than it’s ever been.” Ravus confessed with a lop sided grin.

“Aw, so what do you see for us?” Selena asked giddily before Ravus rolled her over to her back with his body and pinned her to the bed before he started to sensually kiss her neck and chest as she relaxed completely and started to feel heated.

“Oh that you’d find your perfect dress today, that we’ll have the best summer this summer _so far_ ,” Ravus murmured into her skin between heated open mouthed kisses to her hot spots as his hands sensually took her pajamas off before his hands roamed and stroked her body, his touch igniting a fire in her as her breathing changed as her own hands took off his pajamas. “That we’ll build our dream house and that you’ll get inspired by all the vacation homes you’ll be shown this summer so that our house will be spectacular and perfect,” Ravus revealed before he attached his mouth to her breast and started sucking as hard as he knew she liked as he buried himself to the hilt in her as her silky soft legs immediately locked around his waist and hips, making her keen as her fingernails raked down his back. “That we’ll wait to have kids until after the house is finished and we’re settled and we’ll have a few at least.” Ravus murmured into the valley between her breasts before sucking on the other as Selena’s hands went to thread themselves in his hair as his hips worked up a good rhythm, grinding himself into her just the way they both liked.

“And that you’ll be the hottest MILF ever, that if we have sons, all their friends will get crushes on you.” Ravus predicted with a bright smile as Selena giggled at that notion as he kissed back up her chest to her neck to the hottest button she had and pressed it firmly with his tongue and grinned wider when she moaned and her back arched off the bed.

“Will our daughter’s friends get crushes on you because you’ll be a DILF?” Selena asked breathlessly.

“Yeah, but I will always only have eyes for you.” Ravus reassured her.

“Well, yeah, I think that would be a given.” Selena giggled.

“And you’ll be the best mom ever and when we retire early, we get to enjoy our own grandkids a lot.” Ravus predicted with a beaming smile.

“Awww!” Selena gushed but she knew she could put faith in every word.

 

Meanwhile in Luna’s room, she was holding onto the bedding for dear life as Nyx went down on her, holding her ass with one hand while the other palpitated her G-spot as his mouth sucked her clit, his tongue swirling over her nub and she was panting, writhing and keening and crying out in bliss because this was magnificent and because the Escalade had been so full of their friends they couldn’t get away with car sex or even fingering and so between all that pent up passion and the high of finding her dream wedding dress and it looking even better on her than she could have imagined and knowing her Daddy would have been sobbing today looking at his Princess in the perfect gown and seeing her Dad- Regis and even Dorian cry to see her in it too had been all she wanted and needed and she knew the moment she put it on, it was her dress. It was perfect and that high of finding it had yet to leave her.

“Nyx!” Luna cried out as she came and rode his face as her orgasm flooded her senses, making her whole body tense before it finally went lax as her brain swam in the endorphins.

Nyx licked his lips and grinned proudly, being quite pleased with himself for being able to still be the best at giving her that pleasure.

“Wow,” Luna panted as she caught her breath as her whole body seemed to hum and buzz but her smile was still brighter than sunshine itself as Nyx kissed a trail up her body before sheathing himself into her and groaning at how good it felt. He had missed her something awful and hadn’t realized how much sex they usually shared until they had an audience and couldn’t.

Nyx started up an earnest if not slightly desperate pace, enough that it rattled the bed a bit but Luna wanted and needed it just as much as he did.

“Oh God,” Luna groaned as she clawed his back and clung to him for dear life as Nyx licked, kissed, sucked and softly bit at her neck and chest, leaving hickey after hickey in his mouth’s wake before he kissed her deeply, swallowing down every noise she was making as they both hurtled towards release before Luna cried out in ecstasy asher inner walls fluttered and constricted and milked Nyx for all he was worth as he finally pumped her so full of his seed it came seeping out at their joining.

“And _that_ ladies and gentlemen, is how it’s done!” Luna crooned which got both of them to start busting out laughing before he rolled off of her but they still cuddled close as Nyx kissed all over her face as he held her close.

“I love you.” Nyx professed.

“I love you too.” Luna giggled as she returned his kisses, his stubble tickling her lips a little. “I can’t wait for tomorrow, we get to go house hunting! Well, apartment shopping. I really hope we can find a duplex so Crowe and Lib are right next door.” Luna hoped as she rolled over to rest on top of him.

“Me too,” Nyx grinned as he pet her hair and scratched her back.

“I’m so happy everything is falling into place, once we get a place, that’ll be one less thing to worry about. I actually really want to take the chocolate class and the bread and pastry classes, just the one day ones.” Luna revealed.

“Me too, I think they might try to steal you away from medical school though.” Nyx playfully warned which got Luna to laugh.

“Yeah no, I’m happy to learn all that stuff but it’s gonna stay at home because a chef is a busy life and our kids are gonna eat really well, because I’ll be the one cooking for them.” Luna insisted.

“I’m sure they will.” Nyx agreed with a proud beaming smile as his hand subconsciously went to her lower belly and gently stroked it affectionately. “But not yet.” Nyx added.

“Agreed, not yet.” Luna nodded in agreement.

 

Meanwhile in Crowe and Libertus’ room. Libertus had a firm hold of Crowe’s hips and was driving into her so hard her whole body was practically shaking. It had taken everything he had to get her to stop fuming about Ada and rough sex seemed to be the last resort. So he had her laying back on the bed as he held her pelvis up in his hands while he stood on his knees and had her legs had wrapped around his waist and he has pounding into her as hard as he could, he was pretty sure his fingertips were leaving bruises but Crowe had begged and pleaded for ‘harder’ until he was at his current pace, but this angle meant his dick was hitting her G-spot so hard she had cum hard and fast but Libertus wasn’t done yet, he wanted to prove it to himself that he could get her to two. But the moans and keens and desperate cries Crowe was making the exertion worth it. He had been the only one brave enough and smooth enough to finger Crowe in the car since they had taken the far back seat while Luche sat in the front with Ravus while Nyx sat in the back with Selena and Luna and Crowe had done amazing in hiding her orgasm and had used a blanket and pillow to hide their actions and also to hide her jacking him off in turn as everyone but Ravus who was driving and listening to music seemed to doze off.

“Lib!” Crowe cried out as her legs clamped down around his waist and hips to hold him still as her second orgasm snapped and flooded her senses as Libertus just ground himself in her and used her own second orgasm to get him off finally as his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he huffed and puffed and groaned himself before they collapsed on the bed, tired and spent but sated and happy.

“Holy shit Lib, WOW. You are the fucking man!” Crowe praised as she curled herself around him before she took the sheet to wipe all the sweat from him as he panted to catch his breath.

“Thanks Babe.” Libertus grinned in triumph before they gave each other a fist bump with a chuckle before they moved up the bed to get settled for sleep.

“I’m so happy you found your dress today.” Libertus admitted as his limbs felt like rubber.

“Me too. God I didn’t think it was gonna happen for a minute there. But thankfully we got it.” Crowe smiled happily.

“And hopefully we’ll find a decent place tomorrow.” Libertus hoped.

“Me too, I’m not worried about it, chances are Luna and Nyx will buy it outright and we’ll “rent” from them. I missed my baby.” Crowe admitted, referring to the bulldog puppy Libertus had gotten her for graduation that was currently in it’s own little bed on the floor nearby but had been at the same kennel Luna and Nyx had put Pryna and Umbra while everyone else who had dogs had gone and taken their dogs to as well and would be getting some obedience training while they were gone too. It had been a little boy they named Oscar and he was _the cutest_ puppy ever in their opinion and they had both fallen in love with him so dearly and Crowe felt like a proud mom for taking pictures of him almost constantly and posting them on Facebook and Instagram and felt like she couldn’t take a selfie without him, that puppy was going to be their ring bearer for the wedding. He was just precious, he was mostly gray but with splotches of white and so many wrinkles and rolls. _He was perfect_. But after they found a place, Crowe and Libertus would be going with Noctis and his friends and Pashmina had kept Diana with her the whole time and now Diana would have a playmate on the road. Libertus had held onto Oscar in his own ‘dog purse’ all day, occasionally going outside to let it go potty and taking care of it while Crowe was dress shopping.

“Me too, goodnight Babe,” Libertus offered before he settled in for sleep with Crowe cuddling up with his chest for a few moments of quiet bliss.

“Oh and remind me to ask Sylva for more birth control, cause I ran out at Cedar Point and I keep forgetting to ask her...” Crowe mumbled sleepily as she fell asleep but Lib was already out.

 

Meanwhile in Pelna and Yasmine’s room, they were currently doing their favorite position from the literal Kamasutra. Pelna had felt a little guilty for having sex with Yasmine before marriage but as soon as they knew they were going to marry each other and had found their one and only in each other, it couldn’t be helped.

They had spent the majority of their own spring break in their room because finding opportunities to have sex at home was really hard but thankfully after prom, they were able to bang again at the Nox Fleuret-Caelum house but once they officially got engaged, both of their parents eased up a lot and especially once Pelna had proved to her parents by his own job offer at Miracles that he could and would take care of Yasmine, they were especially pleased by that and Pelna and Yasmine had even found an apartment together in a really nice, really upscale apartment complex that was a whole 7 minutes away from the hospital and her medical school and would be moving in together once they got back. Plus they were both really happy that they shared the same languages and culture and food tastes. Yasmine had since actually really learned how to cook traditional Indian food from her mother, her aunts and her grandmothers whereas before she had little interest in it and they were so happy she was now leaning towards more ‘traditional’ ways because she wanted to make Pelna happy and before meeting him, she had always had the view of ‘what could this guy do for me’ but since Pelna was unlike every other guy she had ever met and restored her faith in humanity. Plus he was _fi-yi-yine_ in her opinion and treated her like a goddess and in return she liked to treat him like a god. Because he really was, so sweet and so humble and so thoughtful and super romantic and yet they were both super health conscious and helped each other stay super fit too. And that’s what Yasmine needed, she needed someone to keep her focused and driven yet would never fat shame her which was a hard balance to have and achieve but together they had that down pat.

“Purna!” Yasmine keened which is what Pelna’s name sounded like in Marathi as Pelna held onto one of her legs that was over his shoulder before he moved his hands to her pelvis to really pound into her as Yasmine threw her head back in bliss. “Come on, come on, come on!” Yasmine pleaded desperately as Pelna reached and tried to stroke her clit, he wasn’t great at it but he was trying to do his best and once Yasmine came, Pelna followed before he collapsed on the bed with her, both of them cuddling up to each other as they pulled the blankets up to cover themselves and settle down to sleep as they continued to coo to each other in Marathi like two love birds.

 

Meanwhile in Stella and Tredd’s room they were on their third round of sex and now that Tredd was mostly healed and didn’t have to be on the bottom anymore, Tredd was currently reminding Stella of the out of this world sex they had in the beginning of the relationship and Stella was barely hanging on for dear life because even she had almost forgotten how great he could be. Fuck he was almost too good because she was barely coming down from one orgasm before he was giving her another and she was flirting pretty hard with over-stimulation. She was almost ready to beg and plead for mercy and a break so she could recover but she was sucking on Tredd’s fingers again so he could work her clit like the maestro he was and neither of them wanted this to stop.

 

Meanwhile Luche was just jacking off again in his room next to Ravus and Selena, only for a new change, he wasn’t imagining Sylva this time, no, instead he was back to fantasizing about Ada and imagining her in a wedding dress of her own, one that she would wear to their own wedding, because he just...he wanted her back. To see her so sad and disappointed as she left Kleinfelds really tore him up, and to text her and find out that it was because of Cor’s pride that they were going home pissed him off to no end. At least he could say in clear conscience that he had never done that to her, would never dream of doing that to her either, if he could have her back, he would never make her choose like that because her love life and her social life would kinda be one and the same. There would be no telling the lengths he would go to to just make her happy. He would have given anything for Ada to find her own perfect wedding dress that day but he also knew that if she had looked she would have had Cor in mind of who she’d be wearing it for and that thought literally made him sick. Cor didn’t deserve her. Cor was fucking up, in Luche’s opinion, way worse than Luche had ever fucked up and he felt like he was powerless to help, to do anything to say anything. He had his hands tied and he hated it. He felt there was a line between respecting her and her decisions and letting her experience the consequences of her actions and her choices and actually saving her from the more tortuous aspects of those consequences. He felt she had been through enough, there had to be a stopping point somewhere. But as long as Ada continued to choose Cor over everyone else and anything else, there was nothing to be done on Luche’s end. But Luche swore to himself that if he ever got the chance, he’d take Ada back in a heartbeat, his mom would be pissed but he didn’t care, he still loved her damn it only now he was more educated and equipped to show that love properly. Ravus had estimated that Ada and Cor’s relationship was on it’s last legs and all it would take is for Cor to fuck up one more time and Ada would be done. Luche could and would wait for that. That’s why he wasn’t going to join the band’s tour because he didn’t want to get distracted or meet someone along the way. He was going to stay with Sylva, she would keep him focused and keep him working on himself as he waited. It would be worth the wait. Ada would be worth the wait.

 

Meanwhile Regis was currently finally succumbing to Sylva’s machinations as she rode him with reckless abandon as she ground down in his lap as she rode out her own orgasm, her own keening cry of bliss echoing in his ears as they held onto each other tightly.

“So I’ve been thinking.” Regis began as he looked at his wife adoringly as they both came down from their respective highs.

“Oh?” Sylva blinked in surprise.

“I’m thinking this fall, when we’re not running around so much with the kids, I should get my knee replaced, you’ve only been on me about it for five years, I think it’s time.” Regis announced and Sylva lit up ecstatically.

“Really?! Yes! Finally!” Sylva cheered as she bounced and cheered in his lap in excitement before peppering his whole face in kisses. “I’m so happy and proud that you finally decided to do that!!” Sylva praised before she kissed him earnestly and started up round two.

“So what changed your mind?” Sylva asked as she started up another earnest rhythm because that decision deserved it’s own reward.

“Well seeing Lunafreya and Selena in wedding dresses reminded me that we’d be getting grandkids soon and I really want to bounce them on my knee among other things, like take them fishing and stuff and I think it should heal completely before that happens.” Regis reasoned as Sylva was near tears at the thought of getting grandkids too before she just started giggling while crying happy tears at the same time.

“We are going to be getting so many grandkids we’ll run out of knees.” Sylva giggled as Regis kissed her tears away.

“Yeah? How many do you think we’ll get?” Regis asked.

“Oh over a dozen. At least, just between Lunafreya and Selena, Noctis and Ignis will probably only adopt a couple of kids.” Sylva predicted. “Chances are, Noct and Iggy will give us our first grandkids, all it will take is for a mother to abandon her baby in the nursery and Noctis will pick up that baby, wonder how any woman could do such a thing, fall head over heels in love and all of us will be shit out of luck trying to get that baby out of his arms.” Sylva revealed.

“Oh lord,” Regis chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds about right.” Regis had to admit.

“But again, I’ll try to keep him out of the nursery until after he and Iggy tie the knot.” Sylva offered.

“Thank you.” Regis thanked her. “So who do you think out of every couple today will be the first to get pregnant?” Regis asked.

“Oh Crowe and Libertus, hands down, followed closely by Gladio and Pashmina.” Sylva grinned.


	2. Lil Mama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of the girls gets knocked up.

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND

 

Chapter 2

 

Luche gave his bag to the attendant before he jogged up the stairs and made a B-line for the bar and made himself and Sylva something to drink since he had beaten her to the jet and just as he got done, Sylva boarded the plane and blew out a breath of relief to see Luche making her her favorite drink.

“You’re a godsend.” Sylva praised as she kicked her heels off and walked over to the bar and took a seat and took her offered drink from Luche.

“Thanks, I try Sly.” Luche grinned just as the plane door closed.

“We’ll take off in just a few minutes Sylva.” The pilot informed her through the speaker.

“Thanks Rick.” Sylva answered before the microphone cut out and Luche and Sylva felt the airplane rev up and start rolling towards the runway.

“So? How are you doing today?” Luche asked as he came around and sat down next to her at the bar.

“Frustrated.” Sylva groused as she drank more of her drink.

“With a what or with a whom?” Luche inquired as he drank his own.

“Sadly with a who.” Sylva sighed tiredly.

“Want to talk about it or anything but?” Luche posed.

“Oh what the hell, so Regis has been just insanely jealous lately and it’s getting on every last nerve I have.” Sylva growled as she continued to down her drink.

“Of what?” Luche asked.

“Of who.” Sylva corrected.

“Who on earth would he be jealous of?” Luche asked in disbelief.

“You.” Sylva informed Luche.

“Excuse me, _what?!_ ” Luche blanched at the notion.

“Yeah,” Sylva confirmed.

“Why? Because I’m young and have my health and working capacity of both my knees?” Luche asked, only slightly teasing but the laugh Sylva gave him had him grinning.

“No, he’s jealous of all the time we spend together. He thinks you’re in love with me.” Sylva giggled and Luche had to laugh along with her.

“That’s...wow...” Luche tried to play it off and just shook his head as he looked into his glass before taking a long pull as his cheeks and ears burned red and he stared at the picture behind the bar.

Sylva sat there and watched his reaction closely before she was moved to action. When he turned his head to look at her, her face was next to his and before he knew it, she was kissing him. And not one of those kisses a mother would peck onto the cheek of her son, no this was definitely a lovers kiss and when Sylva sucked on his lower lip he was powerless not to kiss back in kind, throwing caution and his fucks into the wind and just going for broke and really kissing her back and when she made the most wonderful keening sound he framed her face with his hands and stood up from the stool and pulled her to her feet and flush with himself between the two bar stools and kissed her deeper and more passionately and when she hopped up into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist, he was completely done for and promptly carried her with one arm to the back of the plane where the bedroom was and used his free hand to feel for the door and it’s handle and once inside he literally grabbed her by the waist and threw her onto the bed. Sylva squealed yet gasped in surprise, no one had ever done that to her before but the fire in Luche’s eyes had her gushing in her panties and when Luche practically ripped her clothes off, she could do nothing but pant and try to do the same to him, his dress shirt buttons went flying all around the room as she ripped it open and pulled up his undershirt to feel his soft skin yet hardened muscles underneath that, not having had the pleasure of feeling such a divine set of abs in forever and when he finally was bared to her she nearly lost her breath, he was so fucking hot, he should be a model and when he entered her roughly, her whole body writhed in pleasure as her skin felt hot and tingly everywhere he touched her and when he went to kiss her neck and nip at it, she mewled and pushed herself up against him as his hands intertwined with hers and he pinned them up above her head and practically pinned her to the bed with his body and she made no move to get out from under him and when Luche powered a really rough stroke into her and his hips slammed into hers, she could do nothing but cry out as Luche continued to kiss, lick and bite at her neck but not hard enough to leave a mark but when his face moved to her bosom and finally got a chance to suck on a nipple and quite hard, Sylva nearly lost it.

“Oh God.” Sylva keened as her back arched off the bed, pushing her breast even further into his face as his hips continued to slam into hers as her legs tightened like a vice around his waist and then without warning he pried her legs off of him to unlock them and when he did he pulled away and out of him and very forcefully rolled her over and pulled her hips up as she rose to support her upper half by her arms to fuck her from behind and slapped her ass so hard she hissed in pleasured pain and his hand left a red hand print before both of his hands grabbed her hips so hard his fingertips would bruise her perfect porcelain skin for a few long moments as Sylva felt herself hurtle close to orgasm. Luche then laid over her and grabbed and pulled her hair so hard her head was pulled to the side as he bit down on her shoulder which only continued to send pleasured bolts of lightning though her body.

“Don’t you dare cum yet.” Luche growled into her ear before his hand that had been fisted into her hair scratched her scalp roughly and Sylva’s eyes nearly rolled back into her head.

“Wouldn’t...dream of it...” Sylva nearly sobbed as she was so overwhelmed with pleasure before Luche bit her earlobe and sucked on it before licking a trail down her back as he stood up on his knees again and gripped her hips hard again to pound into so hard she barely realized they were up in the air now. When had they taken off?

“Get down!” Luche growled and reached over her to grab her wrists to pull them out from under her to pin her chest to the bed before putting his hand between her shoulder blades to keep her pinned down before he scratched down her spine from the base of her neck down to her ass, his fingernails leaving claw marks down her back as she keened again as her eyes rolled back into her head in pleasure. She hadn’t been the recipient of sex this rough since before she was with Victor and she had no idea how much she had missed it.

“Lu!” Sylva pleaded desperately, she wanted to cum so bad and when Luche reached around her and tapped and rubbed vigorously at her clit she didn’t know how much longer she could hold out as her lower legs kicked against the bed and she clawed at the bedding before Luche spanked her again, the slap echoing off the walls as he neared his own finish.

“Please, please, please.” Sylva begged, her voice muffled by the pillows on the bed.

“Cum for me Sly, cum so hard that Regis won’t stand a chance of ever pleasing you like this!” Luche spat through gritted teeth as his own eyes closed tightly as he felt her inwardly flutter and start to constrict as her clit swelled around his fingers as she cried out his name and spilled himself into her.

Sylva sat up in bed with a start as she realized she was on her yacht again and sleeping next to Regis who was still snoring away next to her.

“Oh thank God,” Sylva whispered in relief as she brought her knees up to her chest and held them close as she recovered from her dream. “I have _got_ to get Lu back together with Ada.” Sylva breathed as she ran her hands though her hair and scratched at her scalp but her whole body was buzzing and her underwear was soaked. She looked at the time and debated whether or not she should wake Regis up to romp with him or to just get in her bedside drawer and get her vibrator. She chose the vibrator and rolled over and got it out along with a little bottle of lube and settled back into bed and relaxed as she inserted it and turned it on, the buzzing muffled by the blankets as she recalled all the other sex dreams she had had of Luche, especially of him choking her being some of her favorites. She felt so guilty every time she had them. Knowing it would destroy her family if they ever came to fruition but she also knew that this was only a passing fling for herself and that soon she would get over it at about the same time Luche would get over his crush on her.

“My Dear? You could have woken me up.” Regis purred as he rolled over to face her and reached out to slide his hand down her body to grab the toy and shoved it deeper into her before angling it to drive it into her G-spot and Sylva nearly came off the bed she writhed so much as Regis grounded her by then kissing, licking and biting at her neck.

“I...you’ve needed your sleep.” Sylva tried to explain as she brought herself out of her fantasy to thoroughly enjoy the moment with her husband and Regis hummed in acknowledgment before he turned the toy off and pulled it out of her while taking her pajama bottoms and panties off as she did the same to him before he settled over her before he thrust his own hardened member into her, grinning when she keened.

“What do _you_ need?” Regis asked and Sylva nearly started to cry because her husband knew her so well enough and obviously loved her enough to care enough to ask such a thing.

“Rough, _very rough_.” Sylva panted and Regis hummed again in agreement and in a flash, it was like he transformed and ripped her pajama top open to reveal her to him as Sylva gasped and squealed in delight and beamed the proudest smile at him for reading her mind. Regis knew how to sew them back on anyway and bit at her chest and sucked on her nipples so hard, he felt like he was going to suck them off her breasts but that’s what she wanted when she wanted it rough before he rolled her over roughly but because of his knee he couldn’t get on his knees to drive into her that way but he could lay over her and put his weight on her to help her feel like she was being smothered as he reached around her to grab her throat and start choking her the way she liked too as he other hand twisted her nipple between grabbing at her breasts roughly, thankfully he was both wide enough and long enough that she didn’t loose anything sensory wise from this angle as she groaned in pleasure as her head swam in semi delirious delight and when Regis was done with her breast he reached down and under them to rub at her clit very roughly as Sylva cried out and moaned into the pillows and Regis grinned smugly when he both felt and heard her cum, his own orgasm chasing hers and stopped his minstrations when Sylva stilled his actions with her hands on his wrists.

“Better?” Regis asked.

“Yes, much.” Sylva panted as she recovered.

“Good.” Regis nodded before he got off of her but otherwise gathered her into his arms again and kissed the crown of her head when she cuddled into his chest.

 

“Welcome aboard The Magnifique!” Sylva greeted everyone happily the next morning as all her kids and their friends boarded her super yacht in Martha’s Vineyard where they would then be sailing down to the coast to Myrtle Beach while the drivers drove her Escalade and the tour buses down there to meet them as everyone was shown their rooms by the yacht’s crew and once everyone was settled in they congregated by the bar where a buffet had been spread out and they started gorging themselves as everyone caught up with everyone else.

“So? Are you going to be selling or keeping the house in Maine?” Sylva asked Ravus, Selena, Nyx and Lunafreya.

“We’re keeping it.” Lunafreya spoke up as she gestured to herself and Nyx.

“Awesome.” Sylva nodded before her ears caught onto Crowe’s conversation with Pashmina and Yasmine.

“Man it’s like my tit’s grew again, this fit just fine a month ago, I feel like I’m gonna fall out of this thing.” Crowe complained about her bikini top and Sylva frowned and looked over at Lunafreya to see if she was listening to what Crowe was saying and found that Lunafreya had caught onto that too and was frowning back at her mother.

“Oh quit complaining, I’m just worried this tampon isn’t gonna hold.” Pashmina waived off.

“Ha! Yeah, my period came early this month, only lasted a day or so, barely took a whole pad.” Crowe bragged and Sylva, Lunafreya and Yasmine spit out their drinks and started choking on them as they all looked at each other worriedly.

“Yeah, give me that.” Yasmine grabbed Crowe’s drink out of her hand and Sylva had to keep Lunafreya from yanking Crowe out of her seat.

“Crowe, could you come with me for a moment please?” Sylva asked as she gave Yasmine and Lunafreya a meaningful look to keep them from reacting any further so as not to give away their suspicions.

“Yeah, sure.” Crowe agreed.

“Now, back in New York, when you said you had run out of birth control, how long _exactly_ were you out of it?” Sylva asked as she brought Crowe down to the infirmary.

“Only like a week and a half? Two weeks maybe?” Crowe shrugged and Sylva had to bite her lips to keep her face calm and neutral.

“And while you were out, whenever you and Lib had sex you always used a condom right?” Sylva asked.

“Nah, I’ve gone that long without taking my birth control before and nothing has ever happened.” Crowe shook her head no.

“I see, well, I don’t mean to cause you alarm but enlarged or even more sensitive breasts, darkening nipples, the urge to go to the bathroom all the time, an early and light period instead of the regular menstrual cycle are some of the early signs of pregnancy.” Sylva informed Crowe just as the two entered the infirmary which was decked out like a mini hospital.

“Wha…?” Crowe blinked in surprise before she peeked at her nipples in her bathing suit and her eyes went wide. “Shit.” Crowe breathed as her heart rate started to climb as her mind whirled.

“Ok, before you start freaking out, I need you to know something, even if you are pregnant, if you don’t want it or if you don’t think you’re ready, I have everything I need right here and now to terminate it and you are an adult, this is solely your body and your choice if you want to keep it or not. But before we get to that, there’s two things I can use to determine if you’re pregnant or not in the first place. You might still be too early for it to show up on a traditional pregnancy test, so what’s left is I can run a blood test or I have my ultrasound machine right here, we can look and see.” Sylva offered.

“Ultrasound.” Crowe immediately said before Sylva had Crowe get into a proper hospital gown and got the room set up and wheeled her ultrasound machine over to the table and got a proper blanket down and another to drape over Crowe’s body and got Crowe to take off her bottoms and up onto the table before Sylva draped the top blanket over her.

“Now, because it’s still early, I have to insert the ultrasound wand vaginally.” Sylva cautioned as she put a plastic cover over the wand.

“Ok.” Crowe nodded as the lubrication warmed up before Sylva had Crowe get her feet in the stirrups.

“Ok, ready?” Sylva asked after she put the now warm lubrication on the plastic over the ultrasound wand.

“Ready.” Crowe nodded anxiously as she fisted her hands in the blanket and grimaced as Sylva pushed the wand in and moved it around to get a good look at everything.

“Do you want to see this?” Sylva asked and Crowe nodded yes enthusiastically before Sylva turned the machine so the screen could face both of them. “Houston, we have an embryo.” Sylva lightheartedly informed Crowe as she pointed to it on the screen.

“Oh my God.” Crowe smiled and just started crying but couldn’t stop smiling. “I’m pregnant.” Crowe choked out, her tears flooding her vision as she used the blanket to dry them up. “Lib needs to see this.” Crowe realized.

“I wouldn’t show him unless you plan on keeping it Dearest.” Sylva gently cautioned.

“I know.” Crowe nodded.

“Well ok then, I guess that answers that. Congratulations, you’re gonna be a mom.” Sylva congratulated her.

“Thank you.” Crowe smiled so brightly she shamed the sun.

“Ok, I gotta take this out so I can go to the door because Lunafreya and Yasmine are anxiously on the other side of the door and they’ll go get him.” Sylva said as she pulled the wand out for only a moment and went to the door.

“Go get Libertus, now.” Sylva told the girls with an excited expression as Yasmine and Luna just bolted and ran to go get Libertus.

“Now, let’s see how far along you are.” Sylva said as she came back over to Crowe and re-inserted the wand to try to get a read out.

Meanwhile Lunafreya and Yasmine ran through the yacht to get to the back of the boat where Libertus was.

“Libertus!!!” They both yelled urgently.

“What?!” Libertus called back as he suddenly found his feet and watched as they were both running to him.

“You got to come with us to the infirmary, it’s Crowe.” Yasmine blurted, but Libertus mistook her tone for ‘something is very wrong’ instead of the ‘something really exciting’ is happening and immediately dropped everything and ran over with them as the three of them ran back to the infirmary with Nyx hot on their heels before Libertus burst into the infirmary, huffing and puffing and nearly having a heart attack seeing Crowe in a hospital gown and under a blanket on the bed.

“Oh God, Baby! What’s wrong?!” Libertus asked anxiously as he was by her side in a moment before Sylva and Crowe suddenly started snickering.

“Babe, I’m not dying. Calm down, everything is ok.” Crowe immediately reassured him and smiled wider and laughed when he looked at her incredulously. “It’s just that you’re gonna be a Daddy.” Crowe informed him as Sylva turned the screen again dramatically and pointed to the embryo on the screen before Libertus realized what position Crowe was lying down in and what position Sylva was in, with her arm shoved between Crowe’s legs under the blanket.

“What?” Libertus gulped.

“You knocked me up.” Crowe rephrased with a giggle before it finally dawned on him.

“I...you...I...” Libertus stuttered as he looked from Crowe’s face to the monitor to her face and then back to the monitor before looking at Sylva who was smiling and nodding and tapping her finger on the screen still pointing to the embryo.

“We’re gonna have a baby?” Libertus asked as he held onto Crowe’s hand tightly while trying not to pass out.

“Yeah, we’re gonna have a baby.” Crowe laughed, amused by how Lib seemed to be slow on the uptake.

“H-How?” Libertus asked and Crowe and Sylva both burst out laughing, he was just too cute.

“Like how did you knock me up or how am I going to give birth? What confuses you?” Crowe teased before it finally hit Libertus full force.

“OH MY GOD BABE!!! YOU’RE PREGNANT!!! WE’RE GONNA HAVE A BABY!!! WE’RE GONNA HAVE A BABY!!!” Libertus suddenly shouted excitedly as his whole body lit up and he started to literally bounce on his feet and practically hop and jump around where he stood which was the reaction Crowe and Sylva had expected as they heard Nyx, Luna and Yasmine cheer on the other side of the door before he just started crying too and kissed Crowe all over her face and told her how much he loved her over and over and over again as Sylva printed off a bunch of copies of the best pictures she could get of the embryo before she removed the wand and wiped all the lube from Crowe’s sex so she could get her bikini bottoms back on.

“Oh! How far along are you?!” Libertus asked as Crowe shimmied back into her bikini and took off the hospital gown.

“Only two weeks, you knocked me up the night I picked out my wedding dress.” Crowe grinned.

“Oh-ooh.” Libertus oohed as he remembered that night.

“So that means the baby, if you can bear it to full term will be due at the end of February, February 19th-24th, somewhere in there.” Sylva estimated with a pregnancy calculator.

“Which means we’ll be in New York.” Libertus realized. “So what about...” Libertus started asking.

“Actually, while the girls were going to get you, Mom and I talked about that. She said she’ll help me get my classes a year later so I can stay home during the pregnancy and the first year of the baby’s life.” Crowe informed him proudly.

“Whew, ok, good,” Libertus blew out a breath of relief at hearing that. “Oh that means that extra room will be the nursery, what do you want to call it if it’s a girl? Or what if it’s a boy?! What colors should we paint the room? What kind of crib should we get?” Libertus suddenly fired off.

“Ok, ok, calm down, before you worry about all that, it’s still really early, like, really really early, you two gotta prepare yourselves just in case it doesn’t take. A lot of women miscarry in the first 12 weeks especially, so be very careful for the next ten weeks and even farther beyond that- which are going to be long for you guys, I’m just warning you now. I’m ordering a portable ultrasound machine so Yasmine can keep track of everything since she’s training to be an OBGYN so if you don’t mind, this will be invaluable experience for her.” Sylva cautioned and they both nodded in understanding.

“Thank you so much Mom.” Libertus hugged Sylva tightly.

“You’re welcome, congratulations, just be very careful with her ok?...” Sylva began as she went over what foods to avoid, what drinks to avoid, what activities to be careful with and so on.

The moment Crowe and Libertus went out into the hall, all their friends were gathered in the hall and cheered really loud when they left as all their friends congratulated them. Crowe immediately earning the nick name of ‘Lil Mama’ while all the guys begrudingly handed Tredd a hundred dollars each since the moment the girls got Libertus, he challenged that Libertus had knocked her up and took bets and even started a bet for when Crowe would give birth. Yasmine started making Crowe super food milkshakes with tons of berries and other fruits for Crowe to drink in addition to making sure Crowe had her gummy vitamins for pregnancy as Sylva went ahead and ordered that ultasound machine and had it delivered to the port in Myrtle beach.

 

Once at Myrtle beach however, both Nyx and Lunafreya as well as Ravus and Selena all got vacation houses there because they just fell in love with how quaint and family friendly it was while Yasmine and Pelna and Pashmina and Gladio got a timeshare there and when they went further south, they got cabins in the smokey mountains too, close to some of the best BBQ joints they had ever had before they continued their drive south and the whole group met up again in Disney World and spent a week going to all the parks.

 

“Wow this is _really gorgeous_.” Selena praised as she, Ravus, Luna and Nyx walked into the mansion they had in Miami. “Dibs.” Selena quickly added in a giggle before Nyx could say anything as Luna laughed.

“Yeah, this is totally yours, I’ve never really liked this house anyway, there’s a place up the street I’ve always liked though.” Lunafreya admitted.

“Oh the one four houses up?” Nyx asked as he pointed in the direction of it and Luna nodded yes emphatically. “Yeah me too.” Nyx admitted and Luna lit up.

“Well then excuse us for just a moment.” Luna quickly took Nyx’s hand and led him back out to walk up the street as Selena discovered her new vacation house with Ravus, taking pictures of her favorite parts before Ravus led her to the master bedroom.

“Holy shit, wow.” Selena gasped when she saw it. “I absolutely love it.” Selena beamed as she walked around and checked out the bathroom.

“This is my favorite house so far.” Selena praised and Ravus grinned. He knew she’d love it.

“Good, you should.” Ravus nodded in agreement before he went over to the safe that was in the bathroom and unlocked it.

“Ha! I knew she left it here.” Ravus beamed when he took out more jewelry from the safe.

“Did your grandmother go anywhere without at least a million dollars in diamonds with her?” Selena teased.

“No she did not.” Ravus chuckled before he offered it to her as Selena just shook her head and looked them over.

“Did she have an affair with someone at DeBeers?” Selena asked, in a slightly teasing tone as she tilted her head and considered the diamonds in the sunlight and Ravus laughed again.

“She did actually,” Ravus revealed as he sidled up next to her to look over the jewelry too to appraise it.

“Jesus.” Selena whispered as she just shook her head again. “If I ever start to be like your grandmother, slap me.” Selena urged her fiance which got him to bark a laugh.

“I don’t think that’s possible Darling.” Ravus reassured her as he rubbed soothing circles into her back.

“Well that being said, this is gorgeous.” Selena allowed, at least his grandmother had good taste in jewelry.

“Then it’s yours, I’ll enjoy it infinitely more if it’s on you and it does suit you.” Ravus urged as he got it from her and put it on her.

“Thank you.” Selena thanked him and kissed him passionately before he picked her up to carry her over to the bed.

“Ok, your grandmother had good taste in two things, jewelry and beds.” Selena praised as she laid back and let Ravus undress her as she undressed him in turn before they got under the covers and made love again Selena always amazed by how Ravus always seemed worship her body with his, especially when she was wearing the family jewels, one of his few kinks, but she didn’t mind one bit. She loved it actually because he made her feel so precious, loved and adored.

Meanwhile Luna and Nyx came up on this gorgeous beach house that just happened to be on the market for sale as Luna quickly called the Realtor who was there within minutes to show them the house.

“Oh my God, sorry it took me so long to get here. Let me show you around.” She apologized as she opened the gate and walked them into the property and let them walk around. She had heard through the realtor grapevine that the Nox Fleuret’s were doing this and that’s why she had pushed the owners to put their house on the market just for this express purpose and had even called the owners on her way to the house and told them that Lunafreya Nox Fleuret herself was going to be looking at the house and got a special offer to offer to her.

“So, forgive my curiosity, will you also be keeping the house just a few houses over or not?” The realtor asked.

“Oh my brother and his fiance will be keeping it but I’ve always loved this house and I’m just tickled it’s on the market.” Lunafreya informed her with a bright smile as she and Nyx checked out the state of the art kitchen that had just gotten remodeled.

“Oh, how lovely.” The realtor smiled fondly and waited until they had seen all of it before she told them the owner’s special offer if Lunafreya would be interested as Nyx and Lunafreya gave each other a subtle but meaningful look before Nyx gave her the nod.

“Sold.” Lunafreya beamed and got into her purse and took out her checkbook as the realtor quickly got all the paperwork together to have them sign to buy the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah ok, sorry for the long time between updates, my grandma died and I was in a FUNK and got distracted but I'm back baby! Woo! Had you in the begining huh? *evil cackling* It had me too ngl. But that's what I needed to break the funk.


	3. Big Pimpin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sylva reveals how she has a super yacht that is worth more than her total net worth and super jet that's the same way. Not saying she's a ho, because she's not. But she is a very savvy business woman with integrity.

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND

 

Chapter 3

 

“So let me get this straight, you got this super yacht for going on _one date_ with an Arab billionaire?” Crowe asked as she drank her super-food smoothie with extra ripe pineapple as the group sailed to the Caribbean.

“Uh huh- granted it was a week long “date” spent in Dubai at the demand of my mother but yeah.” Sylva nodded as she sipped her own drink with a smug grin.

“Damn,” all the girls exclaimed.

“Oh and my super jet? That came from a Russian billionaire, when it came to the states, it had _a case_ of _beluga caviar_ in a secret compartment in the hold to get it past customs. I ate so much of it because it was only good for two weeks, I thought I was going to be sick and couldn’t eat it again for months. And that was another week long “date” spent in Moscow also at the demand of my mother.” Sylva revealed.

“Holy fucking shit.” All the girls giggled except for Selena, Luna and Stella who just shook their heads.

“Hey, I’m not saying my parents pimped me out, but they totally tried and I can only hope my mother is rolling in her grave now. So if anything I’ve earned both putting up with those guys for as long as I did and _the moment_ I got back from Moscow because Dubai and Moscow were consecutive weeks and before Dubai I spent a week between China and Tokyo going on even more “dates” with even more billionaires but that is besides the point. Anyway, my point is, I came home in the jet and drove straight to Regis’ house and fucked him so hard neither of us could walk straight to make up for my three week absence and nothing pushes you towards your true love quite like spite for your own gold digging parents, in particular my mother, it makes me so happy to see you wear her most prized pieces girls.” Sylva cooed to Selena, Luna and Stella as Selena giggled and touched her necklace as her own grin grew as Lunafreya and Stella just shook their heads and touched their own jewelry too. Between Sylva, Lunafreya, Selena and Stella they had divided up Agnes’ jewelry between them with Sylva getting the vast majority of it but Agnes’ favorite pieces that Sylva hated because she always felt her mother loved them more than she loved her, went to the three younger girls and Samantha as well to spite Agnes- with the promise that none of the girls would ever sell or give the jewelry away, simply pass it down to the next generation because the Anders line rightfully died with her and Sylva would be damned if the Nox Fleuret line ever would.

“So if any of you think that your parents are being unreasonable, or impossible, at least your parents aren’t nearly as bad as mine were.” Sylva cautioned all the girls.

“That’s so fucked up.” Crowe just shook her head.

“Well, what’s worse, your parents or Tredd’s mother?” Stella posed as Sylva and the other girls grimaced and hissed.

“Ooh, yikes, that’s a tough one.” Sylva had to admit. “How is she doing?” Sylva asked Stella.

“Well the day after Tredd proposed, Ted went looking for her and found her strung out at a crack house and put her into rehab that’s also a psyche ward, so it’s touch and go. If they can manage to get her on the right meds and with the right therapy, it’ll help but I don’t know if she’ll take to it or not.” Stella sighed tiredly.

“But she also has to want to get better for the right reason. Does she know about your trust fund? Because I’m worried that will be the only reason she gets better.” Sylva cautioned.

“Oh that worries me too and so far Tredd has forbidden his dad from telling her and won’t tell her either, he doesn’t want her around me and he’s mad at his dad for finding her to begin with. I think he would rather she die of an overdose than be a thieving leech on him and his dad again.” Stella answered. “I think for Ted, he sees me and Tredd together and doing well and it reminds him of what him and Shyanne used to be and he wants that again and misses that.” Stella ventured.

“If he’s that lonely there’s a lot of women he could be introduced to.” Sylva reminded her niece.

“Oh I know, Tredd and I both have offered but he’s not having it, it’s all or nothing with him.” Stella shrugged.

“Well here’s to hoping she stays off of meth, crack and alcohol.” Sylva clinked her glass with Stella’s as the two shared a meaningful look.

“Same.” Stella snorted a laugh.

“I heard my name.” Tredd pointed out as he came up behind his fiance and stole a sip of her drink as he laid a hand over her shoulder and fingered her necklace teasingly as if he was itching to take it off of her but Stella knew that Tredd was only teasing- that he actually wouldn’t do such a thing. Part of his asshole behavior in the beginning had been bravado to cover up his own insecurity because he felt he knew that she was too good for him and if he was an ass enough, it would drive her away. Much the same way Stella liked to be a brashy bitch to drive nice guys away because she, deep down, didn’t think she deserved them even though her behavior spoke of entitlement, she was surprisingly not and once they both saw each other for what they really were and cut through each other’s bullshit, it only helped them fall in love with each other even if they felt they still needed to put on a show for appearances, when they were alone and by themselves with each other, they felt safe enough to be vulnerable with each other and really show their true colors and realize what a pair they made and how they were actually good to and for each other.

“We were talking about your mom, Mom was asking about her.” Stella said as she gestured to Sylva.

“Fucking bitch.” Tredd grumbled before he really started sucking Stella’s drink down.

“Why don’t you get your own if you like it this much?” Stella teased him.

“Because I’m not a pussy, but it’s really fucking good.” Tredd answered as all the girls rolled their eyes.

“Well I hope your mom can make a recovery and sobers up.” Sylva offered sweetly.

“Yeah you’re the only one.” Tredd played off. “So anyone want to change their bets on Lil Mama?” Tredd asked, quickly changing the subject.

 

Meanwhile Cor was meeting Clarus for a drink after work.

“You gotta help me.” Cor pleaded as they both sat at the bar as Clarus raised a curious brow.

“With?” Clarus asked warily.

“You gotta let me go on a drug bust or serve a warrant or _**something**_. I’m going insane.” Cor confessed. “I haven’t left my desk in months, I go to get coffee from the shop down the street and I fantasize about some idiot knocking over the joint while I’m there or I go to the bank and I fantasize about someone robbing it while I’m in it. Like I’m looking over the bar and hoping someone gets drunk and will start a fight right this second.” Cor revealed and Clarus could only shake his head as Sylva’s words washed over his head.

“Well part of being settled down means actually _liking_ the peace and quiet.” Clarus teased and Cor just whimpered and laid his head on his folded arms.

“ _Gradual_ peace and quiet! Not all at once!” Cor argued and Clarus just snorted a laugh and continued to shake his head. He could practically hear Sylva’s sing song tone of ‘I told you so’.

“Fine, if something comes up, I’ll let you know.” Clarus agreed.

 

Meanwhile back at home Ada eased into bathtub, she had splurged and got a little island getaway candle and a bath bomb and a sugar scrub for her skin and a deep hair conditioning mask and next to the bathtub sat a drink made out of some tropical blend juice spiked with whiskey, it was the closest to a tropical drink she could manage and enjoyed her night in alone. She dropped the bath bomb in and watched it swirl and dissolve in the hot water as she sipped her drink as she breathed in the scent of the little candle next to the tub. While she felt jealous of all her friends, at least she could do this for herself. Being furious with Cor over New York had only lasted a couple of days and it was broken by some amazing makeup sex before she groaned when she realized she forgot to pick up her birth control from the pharmacy again. She had been late getting it last month and now she was late getting it again this time. She had such a fickle memory lately.

She quickly shrugged it off and just as the bath bomb fully dissolved, her phone went off and she huffed and got it and saw all the pictures of Crowe and all her friends back on Sylva’s yacht before Crowe sent another picture of another ultrasound picture. She could see Luche in the background, talking with Tredd, Libertus, Nyx, Ravus and Pelna and smiling and still looking handsome as ever while Crowe was with all the girls, Sylva, Stella, Selena and Luna all wearing diamond necklaces and drinking proper island drinks. _It wasn’t fair_. Ada felt tears prick at her eyes before they fell from her eyes and down her cheeks. She sniffled and turned the phone off and tried to get back into the groove of her bath as she washed her hair then put the deep conditioning mask on it and then shaved her legs and underarms before scrubbing her skin with the sugar scrub then when she was done with that she took a foot file and tried to take off all the calluses from her feet. Being a waitress and being on her feet all the time meant her feet were tired and achy and often blistered if not callused.

When she was done the candle’s scent overpowered her nose and she blew it out before she started chugging her own drink again and before she knew it the drink was gone, the water was turning cold, the candle was out and her hair needed to get rinsed and instead of feeling refreshed, she felt even more frustrated...with everything. She laid back and rinsed the conditioning mask out of her hair and once she was done she sat back up and drained the tub and got out, putting a towel around her and got dressed and went to bed early after plugging in her phone again. Baxter jumped up on the bed and snuggled with her as she fell asleep.

 

In her dream she was back in the tea shop with Luche sitting across from her, pouring her a cup of tea, in a suit again and looking particularly handsome while she felt raw and compromised internally.

“I’ve missed you.” Luche finally said.

“You’ve been too busy to miss me.” Ada gently argued as she took the tea cup and drank from it again, the warmth of the tea cup warming her hands as the tea and his presence seemed warmed her soul.

“No I haven’t, it’s impossible for me to be too busy to miss you.” Luche countered with a gentle grin as he picked his own tea cup back up and sipped it.

“Are you sure you’re not missing something really important back at the office right now?” Ada questioned.

“Nope, I don’t deal with anything that’s life or death, whatever is there can wait until whenever I get back, you’re _way_ more important than any paperwork I could do.” Luche insisted, his gentle grin turning reassuring and Ada felt warmed by the sentiment and she could tell he wanted to say more but forced his mouth to stay shut and let her have a moment of peace but part of her wanted to hear whatever he would say.

“What?” Ada asked, hoping that would help him say whatever he wanted or needed to stay.

“I’ve only ever wanted you. So anything I can do to spend time with you, no matter what the cost is- is something I’ll always do if it’s for you.” Luche finally spoke, his voice dropping to a low murmur so that he wouldn’t draw attention to them. But the look in his eyes brought tears to hers. The words were eating their way out of her throat as she stood as Luche did the same and came into his arms as he hugged her tight.

“I’ve only ever wanted you too. I love you.” Ada heard herself sniffle into his chest as she felt so safe and warm in his arms again. Like nothing could hurt her, like nothing could even disappoint her either.

“I love you too, let’s get out of here.” Luche proposed and Ada nodded before he kissed her and then Ada woke up with a start which woke Baxter up who started licking her tears away just as Cor came home from the bar and Ada quickly got control of herself again.

“Hey, you’re still up.” Cor grinned when he came into the room and noticed her sitting up in bed and petting Baxter.

“No, you woke me up when you came home.” Ada teased with a grin, praying her face didn’t betray her.

“Oh I’m sorry.” Cor apologized as he stripped out of his clothes and put his badge and his gun on the bedside table before he crawled into bed with her. “Well I’ll help put you back to sleep then.” Cor offered as he brought her into his embrace. “Wow, your skin is really soft.” Cor noticed as he smelled her hair as he kissed the crown of her head and touched the small of her back.

“Thanks, scrubbed it during my bath.” Ada smiled, pleased that he noticed and rewarded him with a kiss and soon that kiss led to another and a touch led to a caress and before either of them realized they were having soft, sweet sex with each other and when they were done, Cor noticed a little bit of blood on his shaft.

“Did you start your period Love?” Cor asked as he got a tissue to clean himself off with.

“Oh, I must have.” Ada blinked in surprise. “I feel like it’s early.” Ada muttered to herself as she got up and got a pad into her underwear.

“Well it’s always better to be early than it is to be late.” Cor joked and Ada laughed.

“I know right?” Ada grinned as she climbed back into the bed to rest and relax and really fall asleep.

 

Meanwhile back on the yacht.

“Why were you girls talking about Shyanne?” Tredd asked as he helped take the necklace off and put it away so himself and Stella could get ready for bed.

“Oh Mom was telling us the story of how she got the yacht and the jet.”

“Because her mom was the baddest pimp of them all, yeah.” Tredd nodded which got Stella to laugh.

“And she was telling us to be grateful our moms are nothing like that.” Stella added.

“And let me guess, you just had to drag Shyanne into it and go- ‘actually no, Tredd’s mom is much worse’.” Tredd surmised.

“Sorry if I embarrassed you.” Stella apologized softly as she hugged him and held him tight as he in turn clung to her and kissed the crown of her head. “I can promise you that I’ll never touch any of that.” Stella swore. “And just because she’s that way doesn’t mean you’ll ever be that way. I know we would beat the shit out of each other if we ever tried.” Stella lightly teased which got Tredd to crack a grin and huff a laugh through his nose as he continued to just hold her for a long while.

“So would you draw me like one of your French girls Jack?” Tredd teased as he let go of her and playfully tried to put the diamond necklace on himself which got Stella to crack up laughing.

“Yes I would.” Stella cackled.

“Show it to me when you’re done!” Crowe teased through the wall as Tredd jumped and panicked and threw the necklace back into case as Stella nearly went to her knees she started cracking up as she heard Crowe cackle a laugh too.

“Fucking go to sleep! Your knocked up body needs it!” Tredd spat at the wall as Stella was in tears and literally had to go to her knees, holding her sides and laughing her ass off as she could only imagine Crowe was in a similar state on the other side of the wall as Tredd got the necklace and made sure it wasn’t damaged before he put it back properly. “Or do I have to fuck Stella against that wall again?” Tredd threatened.

“Go to sleep! All of you! God!” Luche yelled through the other wall.

“Shut the fuck up and keep fapping!” Tredd yelled back at Luche.

“Fuck you!” Luche groaned before Tredd picked Stella up off the floor and pinned her to the wall between their room and Luche’s and started fucking her hard just to prove a point before Luche groaned again and left his room to go find refuge somewhere else but every room he passed he could hear every other couple being intimate which only made him more frustrated before he got to the couch in the main lounge and collapsed onto that before pulling a throw onto himself as he continued to grumble to himself, if Ada was here and back with him, he wouldn’t give a fuck because he’d be fucking her against the wall too. This wasn’t fair. Everyone else was with the love of their lives and he was in a constant state of anguish because his was still with someone else. Maybe he should have pushed Sylva to introduce him to her nieces. But at the same time Ravus kept reassuring him that if he was patient enough, that Ada would come back to him. He just had to be patient and endure this for now. He could do that. He had to. Now he understood what Ravus felt like when Selena had been with Pelna. If Ravus could wait for Selena, he could wait for Ada and they’d be just as happy too.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, we are getting closer to the FUN. And by fun I mean heart wrenching. But it'll be ok. I promise...ish.


	4. Mandarin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gilgamesh makes his presence known but more importantly FELT.

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND

 

Chapter 4

 

“Ok, I stand corrected, _this_ is my favorite house.” Selena announced as she came into the mansion in California wine country that was styled in a blend of Italianate, Spanish and Mediterranean. With it’s overall warm tones and clay tile roof. She fell head over heels in love with it.

“Knew it would be,” Ravus beamed.

“I want _our house_ to be exactly like this.” Selena urged Ravus who chuckled.

“Yeah, I figured as much.” Ravus nodded in agreement, having figured that the moment they hit the road.

“Yeah, you can keep the house on the coast Luna, I love that location but I love and adore this house and the vineyards are just...spectacular. It’s so beautiful I think I’m gonna cry.” Selena teased herself as her eyes actually started to water which only got Ravus to pull her into his embrace and kiss the crown of her head.

“Well Ravus did buy you that place up the coast so you’re only a stroll down the beach away.” Luna teased her.

“Yeah,” Selena sighed wistfully before she gave Ravus a quick peck on the lips before she had him really show her around.

“Holy shit!” Selena exclaimed when she saw the wine cellar.

“Yeah, this wine cellar alone is worth as much as the actual house I think.” Ravus speculated.

“It’s all dry isn’t it?” Selena asked in disappointment.

“Actually, no,” Ravus began as he hunted through the cellar. “Yes! This Darling, is _ice wine_. And it is exceptionally sweet.” Ravus said as he handed her a little mini bottle.

“Should we chill this first?” Selena asked as she looked it over.

“Yes, yes we should.” Ravus nodded as he used a special wine bottle carrier box to put in a half dozen bottles in, going through the rows picking out different ones before filling the box full and putting it down before getting another before he turned the corner and it was like it kept expanding, Ravus going through the bottles like anyone would go through a library to look at books.

“Does it ever end? I could get lost in here.” Selena teased as Ravus grinned but kept his eyes moving through all the labels.

“You could.” Ravus answered but only half teasing himself before his phone went off.

“Yeah?” Ravus answered.

“Where are you?” Luna asked.

“In the wine cellar?” Ravus answered.

“Where at in the wine cellar?” Luna asked.

“I’m at the Rieslings, just about to head into the Moscatos. I already handed Darling some ice wines.” Ravus answered.

“Ooh, could you get me my favorite please?” Luna requested.

“Sure, what does Jock Strap want?” Ravus asked.

“Oh he’s found the bar, he’s good.” Luna snorted a laugh.

“Well then get me my favorite.” Ravus insisted.

“Already gotten.” Luna reassured him.

“Thanks, when you guys figure out what to get for dinner call me back.” Ravus urged his sister.

“Yup.” Luna nodded.

“That’s really kind of sad that the house is so big, you have to call each other on your phones to talk to each other.” Selena teased as she leaned up against a brick wall and gave him a giddy smile.

“Oh trust me, once we start our family, you’ll be happy it’s as big as it is, in fact I think you’ll love it down here because it’ll be the one part of the house where the kids won’t be allowed to play and you’ll have some nice ‘quiet mommy time’.” Ravus gently teased her with a look that had Selena wishing she could speed up time just to get to that and she just couldn’t help but pull him away from the wines to pull him flush with her to kiss him deeply.

“Can’t wait.” Selena purred when they broke for air and Ravus put the box down but only to allow him to pin her to the brick wall behind her before he picked her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms wrapped around his shoulders as he slipped her panties to the side since she was wearing a sundress as he unzipped his shorts and quickly entered her and moaned with her.

“I can, it’ll be worth the wait. I promise.” Ravus beamed at her.

“Aww,” Selena fawned.

 

Meanwhile Hazel and Titus were about to get ready to go to the store when Hazel checked her phone for the time before the screen went haywire for a moment as Titus’ phone did the same before both her phone and Titus’ phone turned themselves off and wouldn’t turn back on and Hazel inhaled sharply as her eyes went wide with terror because she knew what was going to happen next.

“Titus, you either need to get to the car **right now** or you need to get into my bathroom and don’t come out unless I come in and get you.” Hazel immediately ordered and Titus blinked in surprise when he saw how terrified she suddenly looked.

“What are you talking about?” Titus asked.

“No time to explain, here.” Hazel decided for him before she seemed to pull a gun out from under her breakfast bar and put it into his hand and shoved him into the bathroom.

“Sit right here, don’t move, don’t make a sound and shoot anyone but me who tries to come in.” Hazel ordered, keeping her voice whisper quiet but the hiss to her voice put him on edge before Hazel quickly locked the bathroom and quickly ran to her door and pulled out another hand gun and watched through the keyhole as Charlotte and two body guards came walking purposefully down the hallway, each body guard taking up an end to the hall to leave Charlotte to approach Hazel’s door alone before she knocked her special knock.

“ _Please tell me you’ve come to say goodbye_.” Hazel told her sister in Mandarin when she opened the door for her sister, her gun visible at her side as Charlotte came strutting into Hazel’s apartment as Hazel shut the door behind her as she warily watched her sister.

“ _I came with a warning._ ” Charlotte began and Hazel’s stomach dropped. “ _You should go out to dinner tonight._ ” Charlotte suggested.

“ _Where and_ w _ith who?”_ Hazel’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“ _It doesn’t matter where but_ _I think you’ll know_ _with who_.” Charlotte grinned as she laid a manila envelope on the counter.

“ _What part of ‘I never want to be involved’ is hard to understand?_ ” Hazel bit out.

“ _It’s_ _H_ _eaven’s wish, either serve the warning or_ _you can try to_ _**Witchhazel**_ _._ ” Charlotte returned coolly and Hazel’s jaw clenched. “ _Your choice_.” Charlotte shrugged before she stood in front of Hazel with a challenging smirk before hugging her sister before Hazel begrudgingly returned it.

“W _hy can’t you both go back to Hong Kong? At least you’d be safer there_.” Hazel asked as she hugged her sister tighter, always feeling like she was seeing her sister for the last time when her sister came to her like this.

“Soon.” Charlotte answered and Hazel knew that was the closest to a straight answer she could ever get from Charlotte.

“Ok.” Hazel whispered.

“Now tell Titus hi for me and to keep his nose out of our business.” Charlotte offered in English as she let go of her sister and left, snapping her fingers once she was in the hallway before both henchmen were back at her side as she left the building as Hazel blew out a shaky breath as her cheeks burned as she put the gun back into it’s hiding spot and went over to the manila envelope and opened it to find a tiny flash drive and found 50 thousand dollars with it. Hazel just huffed and shook her head. She took the money out and when she did, she found ‘Warhorn Lion’ written on a piece of yellow paper that almost looked and felt like tissue paper but was in fact a recreation of the paper used by Chinese Emperors to write edicts and orders on- on the inside of the envelope in Mandarin calligraphy and Hazel just closed her eyes and fought not to cry.

“Shit.” Hazel hissed as she got gloves on and took it out and folded it carefully, damning her hands for shaking. _At least it wasn’t Titus’ name_. She put the paper and the flash drive into a new envelope and into her purse before she put the money into her lock box and once she was done she took her gloves off and threw them away before she knocked on the door to the bathroom off her bedroom where she had put Titus.

“It’s safe now Baby.” Hazel called out softly as she unlocked the door and opened it to find Titus still sitting in the same spot she left him in.

“What the fuck is going on?” Titus demanded as he stood up and stared at her incredulously.

“If I answered that, I’d have to kill you myself.” Hazel answered defeated-ly as she took her gun back to put it away.

“What kind of convoluted clandestine bullshit is that?!” Titus spat angrily as he followed her and took note of where it had come from in the first place, having sat right there before and not having the smallest clue it had been there the whole time.

“The kind of convoluted clandestine bullshit that will get _you_ killed, moreover it’s the kind of convoluted clandestine bullshit that puts car bombs under cars and straps C4 to someone’s chest and tells them to walk into hospitals and schools with the power to bring anyone to their knees before it lops off their heads, _that kind_. The kind that already knows _your name_ , where _you_ work, _your_ routines, the truck _you_ drive and where _you_ are at all times. The kind that’s kept a tail on me since I went to college, the kind that has _already_ buried the last nosy boyfriend. So do yourself a favor if you want to live and let it go and never, ever breathe a word of this ever again. This is your _one_ warning. The next time you bring this up, that sniper on that roof right over there will shoot you and I’ll have to change the carpet again because blood doesn’t come out from white carpet well.” Hazel snarled as she pointed her finger into his chest, the tip digging into his flesh hard every time she said the word ‘you’ as tears flowed freely from her eyes as her expression was a pleading one as Titus just stared in shock at her as he finally really sensed what kind of predicament and danger she must be in and all he wanted to do was make her feel safe again, he didn’t care if he had to set the world on fire to do it either. He knew Hazel was smart, _brilliant_ even and as badass as the day was long but if _his_ _Hazel_ was this scared, she would only have every justification to be so.

“Ok.” Titus answered softly as finally nodded as he brought her in and hugged her tight and kissed the crown of her head.

“Obviously you don’t have a choice in this. If this is the way it has to be then it’s the way it has to be.” Titus offered as Hazel just broke down crying and bawled into his chest and when she was done, she pulled herself back together and kissed him so deeply it started their own familiar chain of events and once satisfied, they left and went about their day, Titus doing his best to act like nothing was wrong and that nothing had happened out of the usual.

“Hey you wanna meet up with Cor and Ada for dinner?” Hazel asked innocently as they were putting their groceries away.

“Yeah sure.” Titus nodded and texted Cor.

“Where to?” Titus asked Hazel.

“I don’t care, whatever they want is fine.” Hazel waived off. “Actually I could go for some rice noodles though, maybe Chinese? Japanese? Vietnamese? Thai? Something like that.” Hazel waived off.

“The Mandarin?” Titus suggested, knowing that was her favorite Chinese restaurant, it was a bit upscale but very authentic and the whole menu was in Mandarin and English and he loved the way Hazel could order for them in nothing but Mandarin and get things that weren’t even on the menu.

“Perfect.” Hazel beamed and once at the restaurant, Cor was exceptionally happy and even giddy because he had gotten a break in the Gilgamesh case that day and Hazel was grateful that she wasn’t sitting right next to him but feared for Ada, knowing that Ada was in grave danger but was powerless to say anything to her directly. Hazel excused herself from the table and took her server aside as she went to the bathroom and gave her a hundred dollar bill if she put the envelope into Cor’s bill. Hazel having taken the envelope out with a tissue and put it into a folded napkin to hand to the server who thought it was some kind of practical joke before the owner, who had been watching over them, took the envelope and looked inside before their eyes went wide for a moment and made a quick phone call before they nodded and got a red envelope and wrote something out with a calligraphy pen and comped not just Cor and Ada’s meal but Titus and Hazel’s too.

“Mr. Leonis, could you please come with me?” The owner asked Cor as he came and pointed to the bill as if the card had gotten declined.

“Oh, that shouldn’t of...” Cor said as he got up and got his wallet out as he followed the owner to the cash register.

“Oh no, your card wasn’t declined, no your meal was taken care of already but I didn’t want to disturb your party by handing you this.” The owner said as he handed Leonis a red cash envelope typically given to newly weds at their wedding.

“What does this say?” Cor asked as he pointed to the writing on the envelope.

“It says ‘compliments of Emperor Gilgamesh’.” The owner answered.

“Fuck.” Cor breathed. “Is he here? Like right now?” Cor asked the owner.

“Of course not. Even if he was, you could not do anything Marshal.” The owner pointed out with a smug grin.

“I could have you arrested for aiding and abetting.” Cor threatened.

“Perhaps you should look at the flash drive first before you make any foolish threats.” The owner suggested sagely as Cor narrowed his eyes and got the flash drive and put it into his phone before picture after picture of Ada and Ada and himself came up on the screen before a new message came into his phone with a picture of himself, Ada and Titus in the cross-hairs from a scope while they were still there at the restaurant and Cor looked up and searched the room, trying to find the threats and the vantage points these pictures were taken from.

“It really would be quite rude to answer generosity with disrespect. Perhaps you should go home now.” The owner suggested. “And please do not think that my restaurant is unique in that his Majesty has reign here. There is no where any of you could ever go that he would not come for you.” The owner warned. “And if I may let you in on a secret. His Majesty is being lenient with you and has written your name in black. This is your warning that you have come too close. If you come any closer, he will write your name in white. White is the color of death in our culture. And it will be as if he would have written your death warrant.” The owner added and Cor gulped.

“Understood.” Cor nodded before he went back to the table and tried to casually get them all out of there as the owner came and thanked them for coming and invited them back as he handed Hazel a to go container of her favorite dumplings- raw so she could steam them herself when she got home and once back in Titus’ truck Hazel found a thick black card with what Gilgamesh liked to referred to her as written in gold ink along with a quick message of thanks.

“What does that say?” Titus asked as he noticed it.

“It says ‘thank you’ and my name.” Hazel answered honestly.

“I’ve never gotten a thank you for getting takeout from here.” Titus frowned.

“Well you’re not on first name basis and friends with the family.” Hazel tried to reason with a lop sided grin as Titus nodded in understanding.

“So that’s why our meal was free?” Titus asked.

“Yup.” Hazel nodded.

“So...I’m thinking we should take up a new hobby together.” Titus began.

“Which is?” Hazel asked curiously.

“Shooting. I’m already into hunting, I need to be a better shooter though.” Titus realized as he squeezed her hand a little tighter and gave her a gentle yet reassuring look and watched as Hazel’s grin grew into a full blown smile.

“That would be...amazing.” Hazel praised as she squeezed his hand back tightly and just fell in love with him a little more. Because usually right about now any guy would be running for the hills but instead, Titus was making plans to stay and try to help her.

“Wanna stay at my house tonight?” Titus asked.

“Hell yeah.” Hazel nodded as Titus then turned to head to his house since Hazel already had enough of her things to stay there for a few months straight already.

Once back at his house, Titus put her dumplings in the fridge before he turned to face her, wanting to tell her a thousand different things all at once as he had thought about her predicament all day.

“So, if I wanted my house as secure and defend-able as possible, how would I go about that?” Titus asked her before she grabbed the shopping list pad off of his fridge and a pen and handed them to him.

“Take notes.” Hazel grinned as Titus returned her grin and took them before Hazel began to go through the whole house and tell him exactly how to accomplish that and insisted that she pay for it all because it would be getting quite costly but it was investment in Titus’ well being and would help her sleep easier at night.


	5. Do Your Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone promises to do their best but what exactly is that? Loyalties will be called into question and sides will be have to be taken. For hearth and home remember?

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND

 

Chapter 5

 

The next day, Titus had the start of football tryouts and so Hazel went to the hospital, hoping Luche was in town again, since he didn’t seem like he was really with either Luna and her group or Noctis and his in the pictures both groups posted on Instagram or Facebook and knew that he seemed to be blooming into his role of Sylva’s right hand man and she knew Sylva was still in town for the moment so there was a good chance he was with her now.

“Hi, is Mr. Lazarus or Sylva in today?” Hazel asked Kathryn.

“Yes, both are in but Sylva is about to leave for vacation any minute.” Kathryn answered.

“I need to see Sylva then before she leaves.” Hazel insisted just as Sylva left her office.

“Hey!” Sylva greeted Hazel happily.

“Hey, I know you’re about to leave but could I walk you out?” Hazel asked.

“Yeah, sure, what’s up?” Sylva asked as Hazel left and walked with her to the elevator.

“Um, where are you going on vacation?” Hazel asked.

“Oh, Regis and I are going to tour wine country by train in California for a week then we’re going on a couple of cruises with the kids to Hawaii and then to Alaska why?” Sylva asked.

“Is there any possible way you can take Ada with you?” Hazel asked.

“I can offer but there’s no way Cor will agree to it.” Sylva answered as they stepped into the elevator.

“That’s just it, he needs to because he’s going to get her killed.” Hazel blurted before Sylva stopped the elevator.

“This is a secure elevator and you have my confidence, what’s going on?” Sylva asked as she put her bag down and turned her phone off to make sure this conversation stayed confidential as she turned to face Hazel completely and gave Hazel her undivided attention.

“Ok, I’m breaking a cardinal rule by telling you this but you’re the only one who can help. So Cor got close, _too close_ to Gilgamesh, Cor was talking about it over dinner last night in front of God and everyone like a god damn hot headed idiot and Gilgamesh has since taken notice of him and sent a warning, in the form of my sister Charlotte showing up at _my door_ to give the message to Cor myself which I was able to pass off on someone else to try to stay clear of it from Cor’s perspective but Charlotte came to me while Titus was with me and even though I locked him in my bathroom with my 9/11, she referred to him by name which means that now Gilgamesh knows of Titus and he’s my new soft spot and he’s going to be held above my head to keep me in line and he’s in danger and I’m doing everything I can to protect him but Cor and his ego and his god damn mouth and his _obsession_ with Gilgamesh are going to get us all killed. I’m safe because I’m Charlotte’s sister and I’ve been respectful in the past and I know the rules and usually never break them and I’m lawyer-ed up so I’m covered legally. Ada is _young_ _and innocent_ , she has no business in this and if she dies because she’s close to Cor, that’s on him. I can’t say anything to her directly because if I do, that’ll get her killed quicker because I’ve had a tail since college and I’ve just gotten used to the constant surveillance. But if push comes to shove, they will not hesitate to kill her just to send a message to him to back off and I know Gil and Charlie will make me choose between Titus or Ada and them and I can’t do that, I love Titus, I can’t loose him. I can’t go to the authorities because Gilgamesh has moles in everything and I’ll be dead before I can make a statement and it’s because of those moles that I’ve never had any charges and my legal cases have gotten dismissed and never put on my record and it’s why my record is as squeaky clean as it is. Is there any way we can get Luche and Ada back together any quicker? Because if she was back with Luche, she’d be ok because Luche would keep her away from this shit storm.” Hazel explained as Sylva just listened while her eyes got wide as her stomach dropped and knotted.

“If I have to take her kicking and screaming, I will.” Sylva swore.

“Thank God.” Hazel breathed in relief as she leaned on the railing.

“Is there anything that I can do to help you and Titus though?” Sylva asked.

“If push comes to shove, I’ll have to go _WitchHazel_ to get Charlotte out of whatever bind she finds herself in. And I could use access to a helicopter.” Hazel answered.

“Witch hazel?” Sylva repeated.

“I’ve had a few former boyfriends who were Marines, Special Forces and Black Ops, they all died trying to free me of this before and I got to keep all their gear when they died and know how to use it because all of them trained me very well. _WitchHazel_ is what Charlie likes to refer me turning into her one woman army when her regular army fails her. I hate doing it and it’s almost landed me jail time but the moles and my lawyer, who also works for Gil, have been very good at keeping me out of it... _so far_.” Hazel answered.

“Absolutely. Whatever you need. You’re family and Titus is family too and a family takes care of itself and each other. I will have the best lawyers lined up- who aren’t entangled in this- if need be and I will make myself and all that I have available for your disposal if, like you said, push comes to shove, however that comes to transpire, I can fly a chopper too if you need me to. Charlotte saved Lunafreya’s life, I owe her myself.” Sylva offered and Hazel broke down crying again as the two women hugged each other tightly. Hazel feeling so much lighter now that she wasn’t carrying that burden alone.

“Thank you so much, please don’t say anything about this to anyone. Not even to Regis, please.” Hazel pleaded.

“Of course, every woman is entitled to their secrets and this will be ours and ours alone.” Sylva reassured her. “Thank you for trusting me with this. I will never betray this confidence, I swear on all my kids’ lives.” Sylva swore.

“I trust you.” Hazel laughed as she pulled herself back together. “I was about to go tell Luche to try to steal Ada back if you hadn’t been here.” Hazel admitted.

“Oh don’t bother, I’ll handle everything.” Sylva assured her as Hazel nodded in understanding. “Is there anything else or is that it?” Sylva asked.

“No that’s it.” Hazel shook her head no and quickly wiped her face as Sylva nodded and resumed the elevator and turned her phone back on and once back on, she found she had a missed call from Kathryn.

“Yes?” Sylva asked.

“Hey, if you’re still in the building, Cor Leonis is here.” Kathryn informed her.

“Great, what bay is he in?” Sylva sighed.

“He’s standing right in front of me at your office, he says it’s really urgent.” Kathryn answered.

“I’ll be right there.” Sylva said as she pressed the top floor again.

“I should get off here, I can’t chance being seen with him while he’s under the microscope like this.” Hazel insisted as she got off the elevator on a different floor to make a clean get away.

“Understood, if you ever need anything, text me or call me or do _whatever you gotta do_.” Sylva encouraged.

“Will do. Hey would you mind some company on that wine tour?” Hazel asked as she realized her opportunity to make sure Titus was clear of this too.

“Like you and Titus? Doesn’t he have football?” Sylva asked.

“He has an assistant coach.” Hazel shrugged nonchalantly.

“I will text you the particulars.” Sylva grinned mischievously. “And if you’re going to ask him sooner than later, like I suggest ASAP, might I suggest putting on nothing but a sports bra and booty shorts and do one lap around the track, making sure he watches you then go ask him.” Sylva advised before Hazel nodded solemnly to that before the elevator doors closed and Hazel quickly went to the shops down the street to quickly buy just that.

“Hey, funny seeing you up here, without being banged up first.” Sylva teased Cor when she got out of the elevator.

“Haha, very funny.” Cor groused. “Could we talk please? Privately?” Cor asked.

“Sure,” Sylva nodded as she went back into her office.

“Uh, you’re about to meet up with all your kids right?” Cor asked once the door was shut.

“Yeah. We’re supposed to be touring wine country in California by railroad and then meet up with the kids for the cruises to Hawaii then Alaska.” Sylva nodded.

“Could you please take Ada with you and make sure she meets up with Crowe and Libertus?” Cor asked and Sylva blinked in surprise, having thought she would have had to literally bend his arm for him to accept such an idea.

“Yeah, why?” Sylva felt compelled to ask as she eyed him wearily.

“Well I’m getting close to catching Gilgamesh and it’s going to get hot and I don’t want Ada around just in case it gets messy.” Cor explained.

“Uh, ok, yeah sure, how soon until she can get packed? Regis and I are leaving tomorrow morning.” Sylva said as she texted Hazel those particulars.

“When and where will you need her?” Cor asked.

“At my house, we should be leaving the house around 9, after breakfast.” Sylva answered.

“She’ll be there.” Cor promised.

“Does Ada even want to go? I feel I should be asking her that.” Sylva furthered.

“Yeah, she’ll love it.” Cor insisted.

“Alright.” Sylva nodded.

“Just um, could you try to keep Luche away from her?” Cor asked.

“I’ll do my best.” Sylva offered.

“Thanks, I owe you big.” Cor breathed in relief.

“You’re welcome, just don’t go getting yourself killed while we’re gone.” Sylva urged him.

“I’ll do my best. Thank you so much Sylva, I really appreciate it.” Cor nodded before he left, Luche jumping back into his office to avoid Cor seeing him before he poked his head out and narrowed his eyes at Cor’s retreating form.

Soon after Cor got on the elevator Luche felt safe to leave his office and walked down the hall to Sylva’s office to see her walking out of it with a determined look on her face.

“Everything ok Sly?” Luche asked.

“Yes, pack, up, we’re leaving, as soon as you can get ready to go, we need to do some last minute shopping.” Sylva insisted as Luche nodded in understanding as Sylva followed him into his office as he shut his computer down and started packing up for the night as she shut the door for privacy.

“OK, so change of plans, Cor is up to his neck in something he has no business being in and we’re taking Ada with us tomorrow to get all of us out of the shit show that will most likely go down while we’re away. Hopefully Hazel and Titus will be joining us, you and Ada are going to join the band team, hopefully Titus and Hazel can join Regis and I for the wine tour, then all of us are going to go on the cruises, _keep Ada safe_. Make sure she stays with the group at all times. Whatever she wants or needs, buy it for her. Use my card, you can even buy her and Crowe things together so it’s not weird. Be friendly, be charming, _be gentle_ _and crazy super respectful_ and not intrusive and try not to _actively_ win her over. _Be subtle_ and she will be magnetically drawn to you. Take this journey over the next three weeks as her _friend_ _and confidant_. That’s all she’ll want and all she’ll need from you. You have to reestablish the base, _the foundation_ _of your relationship_ and build up from there. But it has to be laid _well_ first. Got it?” Sylva ordered.

“Got it.” Luche nodded.

“Now, you and me are going to do a little shopping, if she’s going to be touring with a rock band she should look the part. You know her sizes still right?” Sylva asked as Luche ducked his head as his cheeks chained cherry.

“Yes.” Luche admitted.

“Good, we’re going to use that. Come on.” Sylva ordered as she nodded towards the door as he finished up and grabbed all the files and put them on Kathryn’s desk.

“We’re both leaving now, see you again in a few weeks ladies.” Sylva bid Abby and Kathryn.

“Bye.” They waived off as Sylva and Luche immediately started shopping.

Meanwhile Hazel was in the backseat of her SUV the school parking lot getting dressed in Sylva’s prescribed outfit before she gave herself a pep talk and strut out towards the field. The other boys noticed her first before Titus followed their line of sight and his jaw dropped, his whistle dropping from his mouth as it hung open as he watched Hazel come closer before she did a little waive and started jogging around the field, causing a distraction for everyone, especially Titus as he watched her breasts bounce and her ass and thighs jiggle as she jogged and barely could handle both the teams exercises _and_ watching her _and_ doing his best not to get a hard on in his shorts and he had never had to think of his grandma in a nighty so much in life to achieve that. He couldn’t even bring himself get mad or irritated as his possessiveness surged so strongly, it nearly undid him.

“Hi,” Hazel nearly giggled as she caught her breath as she finished her lap around the field, Titus literally turning in his spot so that she was still front and center in his field of vision.

“Hi.” Titus returned as she noticed the sweat bead all over her skin, especially on her heaving chest since the sportsbra was giving her magnificent cleavage.

“So I have a question for you.” Hazel began as she swayed a little in place. “Sylva invited us to tour wine country with her and Regis and I’d love to go, could maybe your assistant coach take over next week?” Hazel asked sweetly.

“Uh,” Titus stammered as his brain was short circuiting having her damn near naked next to him was sending every other thought _but_ her and what he’d like to be doing with her right about now- out of his head.

“Or if you don’t want to go, I could always come to work with you and keep jogging around the field since I don’t have classes for a while.” Hazel prompted and did her best not to grin too evilly when Titus’ eyes narrowed at the notion as she took his hand and wrapped it around her waist, even though she was sure she was dripping with sweat at the moment but she nearly had him. “Please Baby?” Hazel cooed and Titus was putty in her hands.

“When?” Titus asked as his mouth both watered yet felt incredibly dry at the same time, no other woman ever had this effect on him and he was still getting used to her taking his breath away on a regular basis.

“Tomorrow morning at 9.” Hazel beamed.

“Seems...kind of last minute...” Titus noted.

“I’m being encouraged to go.” Hazel whispered as she stood toe to toe with him and placed her hands on his chest as his arm tightened around her waist as she gave him a meaningful look.

“Oh, you could have just said...never-mind, yeah, we’ll go.” Titus immediately agreed.

“Great, I’ll see you at your place after tryouts.” Hazel winked before she kissed him with promise and pulled herself away and sauntered away, sashaying her hips entirely for Titus’ benefit, making Titus pull every anti-boner image into his brain to keep from reacting to her.

“John?” Titus began before John, the assistant coach came over to him as Titus pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought of how on earth he was going to pay for it all as well as try to pull reason back into his head instead of the onslaught of lust that currently filled it.

“Yeah?” John answered.

“You’re gonna, you’re gonna have to take over, for the next week or so. I gotta...I gotta take care of...something personal, for at least a week.” Titus told him as Titus fought to gather himself together and not run after Hazel to fuck her right then and there as John snorted a laugh.

“Yeah, you have fun with that, I gotcha covered.” John reassured him as he gave Titus a congratulatory pat on the back.

“Thanks.” Titus nodded before he refocused himself back to the training.

The moment Titus came home though, he knew she was already there because her SUV was in her spot in his driveway and came running into the house because he was going to fuck Hazel so hard she wouldn’t be able to walk afterwards, because the moment he dismissed his players and got back into his truck, his cock got so hard he could drill through concrete with it and it _would not_ go down. He noticed her bags by the door, already to go before she came down the steps, his luggage in her hand as she had already been packing for him.

“Hi,” Hazel greeted happily before he grabbed his bag out of her hands, let it drop to the floor as he walked her over to the closest wall and immediately started stripping all her clothes off roughly while kissing her fiercely.

“Oh wow,” Hazel gasped as she responded in kind and started stripping him out of his clothes too before he picked her up and pinned her to the wall and impaled himself quickly and roughly into her, her own wetness and the river of precum dripping from his head making that feat easy and making her moan and cry out in ecstasy as he growled, moaned and hissed in pleasure before he started up an enthusiastic and vigorous pace, slamming into her so hard, her whole body was shaking and they were threatening to put a hole in the wall in the shape of Hazel’s upper body as her legs tried to wrap around his waist since she was already clinging to him with her arms around his neck and shoulders. “Oh my God.” Hazel whimpered as Titus bit and sucked on all of her hot spots as his hands dug into her luscious curves, his fingertips especially digging into her ass as he used his hold on her that way to keep her up while the rest of him pinned her to the wall. Her breasts smooshed up against his pecks and her amazing soft belly rubbing up against his as her whole body began to writhe from thepleasure he was giving her as her keens and whimpers grew more loud and desperate and her face flashed pain as he hurtled them both closer to release and once attained, they both simply clung to one another, their heads resting on the shoulders of the other as they caught their breath.

“The next time you pull a stunt like that again, I’m fucking you like this at the god damn school, I don’t even care who’s around.” Titus warned her as she giggled gleefully.

“Promise? Because you could of, I waited a whole five minutes in the car just in case.” Hazel wagged her eyebrows suggestively with a scheming grin and Titus was ready to fuck her through the God damn wall but right at that moment his body was screaming for a break.

“Come on Baby, go easy on me, the next time you want to do something spontaneous or whatever, all you have to do is ask, you don’t have to go through so much trouble.” Titus reminded her as he pressed his forehead to hers.

“Ok,” Hazel agreed before she kissed him meaningfully as he regripped her and went ahead and carried her upstairs for round 2.

 

Meanwhile, immediately after Cor had left Sylva’s office, he went to Theo and Stacy’s to tell Ada the news.

“Hey Love,” Ada greeted Cor when she saw him stride into the restaurant.

“Hey, you need to get out of here as soon as possible.” Cor insisted.

“What? Why? I have like three tables, and one of them just got sat, I can’t walk out.” Ada argued.

“Yes you can, you need to, you need to go home and pack.” Cor returned.

“Wait, what? Where are we going?” Ada asked, thinking Cor was perhaps about to tell her he was taking them on a surprise vacation or something romantic like that.

“You’re going to go spend the next three weeks with Crowe and all them.” Cor answered.

“Why? Weeks ago you said I couldn’t do that, that we couldn’t afford...” Ada started to argue.

“Sylva will be taking care of you.” Cor interrupted as Ada blinked in surprise.

“Again, _w_ _eeks ago_ , you didn’t want her taking care of me at all, you insisted you needed to, what the fuck changed? Does this have something to do with what happened at the restaurant because you haven’t been yourself since then.” Ada demanded as Cor looked around to see if anyone was listening to them before he pulled them to a lonelier place in the restaurant.

“Ada, I’m _**this**_ _ **close**_ to catching Gilgamesh but if the past is any indication it’s going to get ugly and I can’t have you around just in case it does, you’ll be better off being with your friends, you’ll be safer with them.” Cor revealed, his eyes and his facial expression pleading with her to take him seriously and to understand.

“Well then learn from the past! And keep it from getting ugly then! You said you were always going to keep me safe remember? I always thought and felt that the safest place will be right here with you.” Ada countered as her eyes began to water as her hand spread over his heart. “You said that before I came into your life how you were reckless and how do I know you won’t be reckless again without me here?” Ada asked as her tears started falling from her eyes.

“I swear on my life I will not be reckless but I have to do my job Love. If they try to make this personal, I could never forgive myself if anything happened to you. I can’t risk you Love, I just can’t. Thankfully we have friends who can help ok? You just need to trust me and do this. When it’s all over and Gilgamesh is behind bars and can’t hurt anyone ever again, it’ll be ok and I’ll never ask you to leave me ever again, I swear. Please Love, I know Sylva will take good care of you, she’s doing this as a favor to me, just until things get better.” Cor pleaded as he held her hands in his before Ada just crumbled and rested her head onto his chest before he pulled her into a hug.

“Fine,” Ada consented as she wiped her streaking eyeliner and mascara and left him to go hand her tables over to other waitresses as Cor told Theo and Stacy himself that Ada needed to go away for a while, which they understood as they quickly cashed her out and Ada left with Cor to go home and pack what she could before making love with Cor as much as she could before she left.

 

Meanwhile Sylva and Luche were still elbow deep in clothes from not just hot topic but every other store in the mall and beyond. Sylva using visual dimensions rather than actual clothing sizes to make sure she got everything she could for Ada, trying to anticipate Ada’s every need and want, from new clothes, to bras and underwear and makeup and toiletries and things, but Luche could tell she wasn’t buying things with joy because she wanted to, she was doing this because she needed to. She was on a mission and Luche really started to worry since Sylva was so intensely focused and her face was a scowl of determination and they had been shopping non stop since the moment they left the office in mid morning to now, which was now the late afternoon.

“Sly, you should get something to eat.” Luche worried as he felt himself grow famished and his arms grow heavy from carrying almost everything, thinking Sylva wasn’t going to stop until she bought Ada’s literal weight in stuff as he pinned the pile of clothes in his arms to the wall and had buried his face into them trying to catch a few moments of rest.

“Uh huh,” Sylva hummed as she tested the jean’s size in her hands, trying to make sure they would fit. A little big would be ok but she didn’t want to get anything too small.

“Mom! Food.” Luche said a little louder with a little more bite and that seemed to snap her out of her haze.

“Huh? Oh food, sorry Lu, you’re probably starving, yeah, let’s just get this and um, hopefully the food court will have something decent.” Sylva shook her head and blinked as she quickly grabbed all the things she wanted to buy and continued to grab things as she walked to the cash register before they gathered the rest of their bags and quickly walked to the food court in the mall and got something to eat.

“So I take it you can’t really tell me the specifics of why Ada is coming with us tomorrow.” Luche ventured.

“Nope,” Sylva shook her head no as she focused on her food.

“Her life is really in danger then.” Luche concluded as Sylva hesitated for the smallest moment.

“And that’s a fucking yes. Fuck.” Luche growled angrily, having grown quite adept at reading Sylva unusually well.

“Luche, listen to me very, very carefully.” Sylva began as she stopped eating and reached out to put her hand over his to prompt him to look up at her.

“Ada is old enough to know there’s risk. _Right now_ she thinks that the reward of being with Cor is worth the risk of staying with him. Your job, _if you really love her_ , is to show her that there is a life outside of him that she could be living and a life she would be enjoying to the full and better off choosing by leaving him and coming back to you but _no one_ can force her or push her to make that decision, she has to choose that on her own without any prodding from anyone. Hopefully over the next three weeks, she’ll be distracted by Crowe and the baby and all her friends and having fun and you need to remind her to live in the moment because the present is all we have. No one’s future is certain. I know you will make sure she is always out of harm’s way and that she’s safe. Even if you have to come off as a little overprotective to everyone else. In a year or so, you’re both hopefully going to look back on the next three weeks fondly. Make sure you make only good, positive memories for you both. That’s all I can tell you right now.” Sylva urged.

“Should I be bringing a gun?” Luche asked pointedly.

“Just in case, yes, because I know Gladio, Iris and Craig already packed theirs and one more couldn’t hurt.” Sylva nodded.

“Ok, after we’re done eating, lets go get one.” Luche proposed and Sylva nodded yes before she quickly finished her plate.

 

The next morning, Titus, Hazel, Cor, Ada and Luche as well as Rose and Clarus met up at Sylva’s house as Cor talked with Clarus, Regis and Titus while Luche chatted with Hazel about his new gun as she gave him tips on how to use it best as she revealed her own that she always carried in her purse as Rose did the same with her own gunsince Sylva had told both Rose and Hazel that she encouraged Luche to get a gun to protect Ada and they were both relieved to hear itand were impressed with his choice.

“Good morning sweetie, I’m so happy you could come with us.” Sylva greeted Ada sweetly as she hugged Ada tightly as Ada had come into the house, knowing Ada probably needed a mother figure right about now as smiled sadly when Ada hugged her back just as tightly.

“Thanks for having me Mrs...” Ada began to thank her as she fought not to cry again.

“Sylva or Mom sweetie, it’s ok. Now I hope you don’t mind, but I got you a few things to help you enjoy your vacation with all the girls ok?” Sylva informed her as she reached up and wiped a stray tear away from Ada’s eye and gave her an understanding look and encouraging smile.

“Oh you didn’t have to,” Ada shook her head as she sniffled and tried to pull herself back together.

“But I wanted to so I did. So I wanted to run something by you first. Now Luche will also be joining the band group as well and he has a joint credit card with me and I instructed him to buy you whatever you want or need since I won’t personally be with you the whole time whereas he will be and I told him to look after you and take care of you and protect you and I trust him to do that while still maintaining a respectful distance, so think of him like your body guard ok? Is that ok with you or would you prefer me to ask one of the other boys? I know Gladio will be abreast of what’s going on soon and I know he’ll gladly be your shadow too, all the boys should be looking out for you and the other girls.” Sylva put to Ada thoughtfully.

“No, that’s, that’s fine.” Ada nodded in agreement.

“OK, so just in case you’re not completely comfortable with Luche paying for every little thing, here’s a thousand dollars to start off with. Use it for whatever you want or need ok? Don’t worry about a thing and if you try to hand in change and receipts to me or Luche or anyone else I’ll be disappointed.” Sylva gently teased as Ada smiled bashfully as she took the envelope full of money from Sylva.

“I know this is going to be really hard on you, just try to enjoy yourself and have fun and _stay in the moment._ You are and will be surrounded by surrounded by friends who love you like family and a family takes care of each other. Cor is a big boy, he can handle himself and handle himself well, he’s practically _ **immortal**_ at this point, it’ll be ok, he’s just being protective and so am I ok? Also you have my number, use it if you need or want _anything_ ok? Sky’s the limit. Also I’m sending you with plenty of birth control, not that you’ll need to use it, but it’s important to your health that you stay regular ok?” Sylva urged.

“Thank you, so much.” Ada breathed in relief as Sylva gestured to the luggage Sylva had already packed for Ada.

“Also, we’ll be going on two cruises and they’ll be formal nights and I didn’t know your exact dress size so again, let Luche buy you some formal dresses ok? Also, I packed a few jewelry items to wear for the formal nights on the cruises ok? So when we get back, just make sure to get them back to me ok? Otherwise everything else is all yours, including the luggage. Do you like them?” Sylva asked as she unzipped one of the small carry on size suitcases to reveal a few jewelry cases and showed them to Ada as Ada gasped in astonishment, it was by far the most beautiful jewelry she had ever seen in her life as Sylva smiled brightly, knowing Ada would fall head over heels with some of the last of her mother’s favorite jewelry. Also knowing that if Ada would choose to stay with Luche permanently and faithfully, she would have no trouble gifting these pieces to her as another ‘daughter’ to her.

“Oh my God!Wow! I love them, thank you so much for letting me borrow them!” Ada thanked her as she carefully touched the pieces reverentlyand fell head over heels in love with them.

“You’re welcome, I just want you to have fun and look fabulous while doing it, that’s all.” Sylva insisted with a shrug but Ada both could feel and see that Sylva was being completely genuine and that meant the world to her too.

“I’ll do my best.” Ada promised.

“And that’s all anyone can ask of you or anyone else. Also I got you some jewelry for you to keep and it’s in this jewelry case here, so when you get on the bus and get a chance to look it over, let me know what you think. I hope you don’t mind but I had to have Luche help me with this because he knows you and your tastes and sizes better than I do and I apologize if that makes you uncomfortable.” Sylva informed her.

“No, that doesn’t make me uncomfortable, that’s fine, that works actually, I haven’t changed much taste wise or size wise since we’ve been together. I’m sure it will all be great.” Ada nodded.

“Well I didn’t let him pick out your more _personal_ _and private_ items so don’t worry about that ok? All he told me was a bra size and a panty size and I sent him packing to pick out shoes and a good pair of rocker combat boots and he never saw any of those items and I packed all these bags myself.” Sylva explained.

“Whew, ok, yeah, that’s perfect.” Ada smiled in relief.

“Good, come on, we should get some breakfast in us before we go.” Sylva insisted as everyone got breakfast then afterwards got going. Luche went ahead and put Ada’s new luggage in the van since they needed two vehicles to cart everyone and all their stuff while Ada and Cor were saying goodbye as Luche kept his back to them, not wanting to see Cor’s tongue down Ada’s throat as he got used to the weight of the gun on his hip before Rose and Clarus promised Ada that they would look after Cor while she was gone which was really reassuring to her too.

“You’re gonna be ok kid.” Titus offered as he sat between Ada and Hazel in the limo before Ada just hugged his arm and rested her head on his shoulder and practically curled up next to him, the way any little girl would to her father and Titus couldn’t help but be reminded of how young she still was and pet her head affectionately, feeling his fatherly instincts kick in as Hazel continued to talk with Luche.

Once on board Sylva gave Ada a mimosa since that’s what she and Hazel were drinking on the plane but Ada only sipped at it as she was still pretty down before Luche just huffed and went behind the bar and got Ada some of Regis’ favorite whiskey, which was the best whiskey on board the plane and put it into a coffee cup as her tea steeped in another before he simply handed both over to her and walked away again, not knowing if he should talk to her right now or not and wanted to be supportive yet not intrusive and he could see she was already feeling down and he found himself feeling powerless to help before Titus saw Luche’s gesture and could only shake his head as he smiled sadly, knowing full well that Luche still loved her and he felt himself become torn because while he was happy for Cor for having Ada, he wasn’t so sure Ada being with Cor was the best thing _for her_ _though_ so he and Regis went over to where Ada was and sat down on either side of her and told Ada about some of the hi-jinks Cor got into not so long ago which did brighten her up and got her to laugh and smile as Luche stayed with Hazel and Sylva to give Ada some space for the flight as Hazel and Sylva both continued to give him subtle yet very vital advise as he listened to their council attentively.

When they landed, Noctis and his gang as well as Lunafreya and hers were already there, waiting on them, Crowe being the first to run and practically tackle Ada with a hug as the two started crying as they were cackling with laughter as Regis and Sylva pulled their kids aside and told them what was up and how important it was that they all look out for each other and to take care of each other while Luche loaded up Ada’s things onto the girl’s bus which he was not surprised in the least was the nicer bus, with actual potted plants, like aloe and herbs in the windows and loads of fresh fruit and vegetables and fresh flowers in vases and perfectly clean and tidy and had actual air fresheners, making it smell like a flower shop inside a spa, it even had a little mini lawn in the corner for the puppies to do their business while on the road which even _that_ was immaculately clean and didn’t smell of dog mess at all before he went and put his stuff on the guys’ bus and wasn’t surprised to see the carpet stained and covered with dirt and crumbs, junk food and trash and beer cans, both empty and half full everywhere and the fridge crammed full of left overs while the air _literally_ smelled like stale farts and he wanted to hurl and immediately jump ship and get on the girl’s bus. He wanted to take pictures and send them to Sylva, knowing she would bark at her kids to clean the fuck up.

‘Please spend two seconds checking out this stye of a bus that the boys have.’ Luche texted Sylva real quick.

“So let me see how you guys are doing on the bus!” Sylva insisted with forced happiness as she pushed past Noctis and Ignis and the rest of the guys who suddenly looked like deer caught in the headlights.

“Oh my God. Boys!” Sylva snapped angrily as they all hung their heads in shame as she looked it over before noticing at least in the back of the bus where Noctis’ and Ignis room was- was actually really clean and well taken care of, most likely Ignis’ doing.

“All the boys on the boys’ bus now!” Sylva yelled angrily as they all obeyed and got on, none of them looking her in the eye as they all blushed shamefully as Regis came on board and gasped in horror too before looking at his son and his friends harshly as they ducked their heads even lower.

“Really?” Sylva demanded as she didn’t even want to touch the filth as she put her shirt, that she had thankfully sprayed with perfume over her nose for a moment to get a break from the smell as Luche, Ravus and Nyx just shook their heads in the back of the group. Nyx and Ravus at least grateful they were in a group all their own and had kept the Escalade clean at least.

“Who has severe intestinal distress? Because this stench is not normal, did you boys actually drag your asses on the carpet like a cat instead of wiping?!” Sylva demanded as all the guys snickered a laugh before Regis cleared his throat which got all of them to stop immediatelyas all the girls had gathered at the entrance of the bus and started cackling at that analogy.

“Yes!” Crowe called out before giggling as Libertus glared at her through the window.

“Also, I realize that for most of you, this is your first time away from home and you want to enjoy the rock star life style but I am not hiring a maid for you guys and the girls will not be cleaning this either, you all will. I will be in constant contact with the girls to make sure they don’t have to pick up after you, you are _adults_ , not _toddlers_ and are perfectly capable of taking care of yourselves and each other. Every five minutes on the five minute mark I want to see progress in cleaning this bus and I will be texting all of you for pictures and all of you will be doing your part. I will work out a rotating cleaning schedule if I have to, or better yet, Ignis, since I’m sure you’re the reason yours and Noctis’ space at least is clean, you are in charge of assigning everyone rotating tasks so that everyone does a little bit of everything. Seriously, this is _disgusting_. And when was the last time all of you showered? Because I smell B.O. too, put on some God damn deodorant- I packed a literal case of it, where is it? Has anyone used any? You better start because all those girls deserve better than this.” Sylva growled before Regis stepped in.

“And how could they ever expect you to take care of them if you can’t take care of yourselves?You’re lucky I’m not taking pictures of all of this and sending them to your parents.” Regis threatened, shifting back into Principal mode.

“You know what?! Maybe weshould.” Sylva said as she got her phone out to take pictures as Regis did the same before they all rushed to stop them.

“No, no, we’re sorry, we’ll clean up, we’ll clean up right now. We’re so sorry.” They all swore as they quickly got to work.

“Thank you. When I see you in a week I want to see this bus just as clean as the girl’s bus is. Because I know Yasmine refuses to put up with filth of any kind and they’ve already been sending me pictures of everything. Now, I’ll see you boys later, I love you all, be good.” Sylva insisted as she hugged them all before she left and took refuge on the girl’s bus as Regis stayed behind to supervise the boys.

“And who has been buying beer?” Regis demanded as he picked up an empty beer can as all the boys looked at each other but refused to look at Regis or answer his questionas he narrowed his eyes as he noticed half the boys were now sporting quite a bit of facial hair and were groomed to look quite a bit older than they were. Tredd especially.

Meanwhile back on the girl’s bus. “Oh this is so nice! I love it.” Sylva praised as she looked everything over and noticed the fresh flowers and how there wasn’t a spec of dirt or dust in sight and their cleaning supply pantry was stuffed with cleaning supplies the same way the boy’s fridge was stuffed with leftovers while their own fridge had some leftovers too but mostly fresh fruits and vegetables and some really healthy food choices which she was really proud to see, including several bottles of wine which she didn’t mind one bit, knowing that Luna and Selena would have most likely shared the wine and bar supplies from her parent’s estate which she didn’t have an issue with.

“Actually a lot of the boys like to spend time on our bus because our bus is so nice.” Yasmine admitted.

“Figured they would.” Sylva nodded as she held Otis and Diana, each dog on each arm as the girls showed off their bus and how they had put their own personal touches to all their personal spaces as Sylva praised their decorating choices as Yasmine gave Ada the last slot in the safe for her jewelry and passport. “Goodness, you babies are so precious, makes me want to get a puppy.” Sylva cooed as Otis and Diana tried licking at her face.

“Ok, well you girls take care of each other ok? I have a train to catch. Love you, bye.” Sylva cooed to all the girls as she handed the dogs back and hugged them all before she turned to leave.

“Oh, and as a reward for being good and responsible and making me so, so proud, here you go.” Sylva winked as she handed them a stack of hundreds. “Divide it evenly girls.” Sylva cooed before all the girls giggled and squealed in delight.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a train to catch.” Sylva grinned as she walked off the bus and walked right back onto the boys bus.

“How are we doing in here?” Sylva asked as she poked her head into the bus to see all the boys with garbage bags and Clorox wipes while Regis took the cue as they both bid everyone goodbye and got off the bus as Luche was vacuuming and subtly mouthed ‘thank you’ to Sylva as Ignis did the same as she winked at them before Ignis and Luche looked at each other questioningly before Ignis pointed subtly to Luche who nodded.

‘Thank you.’ Ignis mouthed to Luche who nodded sagely at that and went back to vacuuming.

When Sylva got back on her plane and took off, Ada decided to pull all her bags out and actually go through them, curious and excited to see what was in them and noticed a lot of the clothes smelled like Luche and his cologne because he was the one to carry most of it and she may or may not have inhaled that scent deep into her lungs and welcomed the comfort that brought her. Happy and pleased that he chose so well for her.

Meanwhile back in the boy’s bus.

“Since when do you carry a gun?” Tredd asked Luche as he noticed it.

“Can’t be too careful.” Luche replied before Tredd frowned and looked at the other guys while Gladio had quickly finished his part and was on the phone with Cor, getting the real story over in a corner.

“Oh shit.” Gladio breathed before he went and got his own gun out of his bag and put it on.

“What the hell is going on?” Tredd demanded as he watched Gladio put only not only his own guns on but handed Iris hers as she came on board to get armored up too since she had just gotten off the phone with her mom as Gladio and Iris gave each other meaningful looks before Iris told Craig what was happening in Spanish before he went and got his too.

“Seriously! What the fuck is going on? Are we about to knock over Fort Knox?” Tredd asked.

“We can’t tell you cause you’ll run your mouth and ruin it,” Iris growled threateningly.

“Oh shit!” Tredd realized. “Ada’s in danger because Cor got close to someone he shouldn’t of didn’t he and she’s here with us to get away from the shit hitting the fan!” Tredd realized as he put all of that together before Luche pinned Tredd to the wall by the throat.

“If you run your mouth, you will get her and the rest of us killed do you understand?!” Luche roared.

“The guys we’re protecting ourselves and everyone else from have already killed thousands and thousands of people. We are easy targets. Just a bunch of kids against an army of very highly trained killers. How easy would it be to kill all of us? While we’re up on stage or at a gas station in the middle of nowhere? While the girls are selling merch or out shopping? How _easy_ would it be for them to get snatched up? Or kidnapped? A million things can go wrong. So congratulations for figuring it out, now shut your mouth and don’t breathe a word of this to anyone or if we get caught I’m telling them to shoot you first.” Gladio snarled as he had Tredd pinned up against the wall too while Craig was holding Iris back from kicking the shit out of Tredd too.

“Ok, I got it, I got it, don’t choke me you bastard.” Tredd tapped on Luche’s hold on his throat before Luche let go as he and Gladio slowly backed away but stared daggers at him as did everyone else.

“Jesus,” Tredd coughed and just shrugged it off before Gladio held a meeting with all the guys on the bus.

“Alright, in case you haven’t figured this out, Cor Leonis is about to nail one of the most notorious mobster boss and gangster that’s currently in the US right now. His name is Gilgamesh and no one knows what he looks like because he wears a freaky mask and this fucker has laid waste to entire police forces and swat teams before because they wear super advanced armor and only carry armor piercing rounds so they can kill everyone else while no one can touch them. He has an army of dozens of generals with thousands of foot soldiers under them. His right hand man is a woman, she’s simply known as the Empress and she’s just as lethal as he is and she has an ace up her own sleeve, someone known as _WitchHazel_ , all one word, capital W, capital H or in Chinese it’s Jin Lu Mei, because she is either Chinese herself or knows Chinese as her mother tongue because the one account Cor has of her is the two of them talking to each other in perfectly fluent Chinese. When either another rival mob, or another rival gang or even another law enforcement force has cornered the Empress before, she makes one call or one text and within minutes _WitchHazel_ comes and breaks her out of anything and everything and they slip away again and disappear, no one knows who she is, all we do know is that it is a she, but she’s clearly trained as special forces because she’s a sniper and takes out a building full of people with surgical precision, like she’s the Punisher and she is a one woman army.She’s trained with CDC and the best idea they have is that she’s a mercenary and she’s just as dangerous as Gilgamesh and the Empress. Now chances are, we’ll be cool because we personally don’t pose a threat to Gilgamesh and hopefully nothing will happen but we will be careful, the girls are counting on us and so is Cor. Everyone needs to look out for each other, no one goes off alone, especially the girls and especially Ada. Luche, Iris and myself will be on Ada duty but Luche is tasked with taking care of her for the most part because Cor asked Sylva to take care of Ada and when Sylva’s not around, Luche will be doing that for her. Iris, you’ll keep eyes on her while she’s on the girl’s bus. Guys, keep your girls close. We’ll just have to be the overprotective, possessive boyfriends until further notice.” Gladio ordered as all the guys nodded in agreement.

 

Once on the train, Hazel and Titus unpacked and relaxed and opened one of the bottles of wine already in their luxurious cabin.

“Where did all of this come from?” Titus asked as he grabbed her toiletry bag to put her toiletries away and saw fifty thousand dollars in it.

“The same people who encouraged me to get out of town.” Hazel answered as she took it and put the money in the little safe. “So I’m using it and splurging it on you and this trip and keeping you safe.” Hazel added.

“Those people wouldn’t be lead by a guy named Gilgamesh would they?” Titus asked as Hazel froze in fear so he put the bag down and gathered her in his arms. “Hey, no one is listening to us right now, no one is watching us, the curtains are closed, there’s no bugs in this room and I swear on my life whatever you tell me I will never repeat to another living soul, just...tell me, let me know what I’m up against. Please.” Titus pleaded with her as her eyes watered.

“It’s not Gilgamesh, or Gil as I know him, it’s Charlie.” Hazel finally admitted.

“Who’s Charlie?” Titus frowned.

“Charlie, short for Charlotte, Gilgamesh’s Empress, his right hand man that’s a woman, that’s my sister.” Hazel revealed as Titus’ eyes got wide as he looked at her in surprise, not having thought in a million years that Hazel was _so close_ to the most dangerous criminal he had ever heard of. And knowing she wouldn’t be apart of this if she had a choice. She was trapped.

“...How? She’s not...” Titus tried to argue.

“White? No she isn’t. Her birth mother, is my adopted step mother who raised us side by side by twins because we were born on the same day, you know my mother is Chinese. She had an affair with an older black guy as a teenager and when her parents found out, they tried to force an abortion on her but she was too far along by the time they found out and had to drop out of school and brought shame on the family and they then tried to force her to give Charlotte up for adoption and she refused and my father, who was in the next room over and holding me while he grieved my mother because my birth mother died giving birth to me, he heard the commotion and came to my mother’s rescue and practically married her on the spot to save her from her own parents. When Charlotte was a little girl, we went to a family reunion and my uncle, my father’s brother, raped Charlotte, my dad killed him on the spot and it fucked Charlie up. Fucked all of us up. As a teenager she got in trouble and never, ever got out of it, just got into deeper and deeper trouble with increasingly more dangerous people. When Gilgamesh got a hold of her, he claimed he found his ‘Empress’ because he’s Chinese and obsessed with Imperial China and finding a beautiful blasian girl who was just as jaded and just as ruthless and cut throat as he is, but more importantly, was just as brilliant as he is, was all he wanted. Now that Gil and Charlie are together, they’re an unstoppable powerhouse. I’m safe from them and protected by them because I’m Charlie’s sister but you and everyone else is not. You can not tell Cor or anyone else any of this. _No one_ can know any of this. If Cor were to find out and try to bring me in for questioning or use this against me, or them, it will cost him his life before he can enter the interrogation room. They’re not above mass murder, either civilians or an entire district of law enforcement, in fact I know they already have done both and they have moles in everything. I can’t go to the police, or sheriff’s office, I can’t go to the U.S. Marshals, I can’t go to the CIA or the FBI, definitely not congress because I’m pretty sure Gilgamesh has people in all of it, I don’t know who they are and thankfully I’ve never met them so even I couldn’t expose them even if I wanted to. I just know they’re there.” Hazel revealed as she expected Titus to withdraw from her but he stayed steady as ever as he listened with rapt attention.

“Ok. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I love you.” Titus nodded in understanding before he just tightened his hold on her and hugged her as she hugged him tightly, feeling even better now that she told him and he didn’t run or withdraw or anything. She took a leap of faith telling him and he caught her and was keeping her and that’s all she wanted and all she could ever ask for.

“I love you too.” Hazel murmured as she clung to him.

“We’ll get through this, _together_. I promise.” Titus whispered and Hazel for the first time, allowed herself to really believe that and put real faith in that because he really meant it.

“Just don’t try to _free me_ from all this ok? _Everyone_ who has ever tried has died. I can’t loose you.” Hazel pleaded.

“Ok,” Titus agreed but he was already mentally trying to figure out exactly how he was going to be the first to succeed. Having the odds stacked against him wasn’t new. These were just different odds is all. Instead of a football game or his career, it was his life and the love of his life. He couldn’t screw this up. He waited his whole life for Hazel to come along and now that he had her, he was not going to let her go, _ever_. And he’ll be damned if she ever felt powerless or helpless or she was like a prisoner or slave to anyone’s will but her own ever again. He just had to bide his time and be smart about this. Maybe he needed to play some chess with Regis while they were on the train to really improve his tactical thinking skills.

 

Meanwhile back on the girl’s bus, Ada was still going through all of the things Sylva had bought for her and was putting on a fashion show for the rest of the girls which boosted her confidence and made her feel better too especially once she got into her makeup and all the girls helped her put it on and got her looking like a model. Helping take picture after picture of her to send to Cor and Sylva.

While back on the boy’s bus Luche had just settled into his bunk, being ever so grateful Sylva invested in some outrageously comfortable mattresses for both buses and he had already packed a sheet set for himself and his bunk, not knowing who had slept on his bunk before him and not wanting to know who or what had happened, he just Lysol-ed the bunk then Febreeze-ed it then put on his own sheet set and bedding before putting on his own pillows too. He still had a lot of think over and mentally figure out. He couldn’t be rash, he had to be smart. That one rile from Tredd had him ready to take his friend’s head off. He had to remember that Tredd wasn’t the enemy. Gilgamesh was, although Gilgamesh wouldn’t even be an issue if Cor wasn’t a factor in everyone’s lives. Maybe if Gilgamesh could just take Cor out _before_ he got taken down so the rest of them would be ok and unharmed, that would be ok. Honestly that would be, in his mind, the most ideal situation. Because he could more easily catch Ada from such an emotional devastation. But then again if that happened Cor would die a golden boy hero and she’d be liable to go find another just like Cor. Ok, maybe that wasn’t the greatest idea. Maybe Sylva’s idea was the best after all, Ada just needed time and space away from Cor to gain some perspective of her life and to enjoy this time with her friends and away from him and then when she got back she’d see how much he was really lacking compared to himself. He just had to prove himself better and more superior to Cor. But he still needed to be true to himself, but also he needed to do right by her too. He needed to do her justice and he needed to win her over without- as Sylva put it- ‘actively’ win her over. She said to be subtle, he needed to do subtle but meaningful gestures.

“Fuck, give those mice in your head a break, I can hear their wheels turning a million miles an hour from here.” Tredd teased from the bunk across the aisle.

“Fuck off dude.” Luche bit out.

“Seriously, I can hear you huffin and puffin from here like a little bitch.” Tredd snickered.

“How many times have you gotten punched so far on this trip?” Luche asked to which Tredd just laughed harder. “And how many times would you like to get shot?” Luche snapped.

“Ooh, so now you got a gun, you’re gonna shoot your bro just for ruffling your feathers a little?” Tredd taunted as he reached out and poked into the curtain.

“What part of **fuck off** do you not understand?” Luche swiped at the intruding finger before Tredd pulled Luche’s curtain back a little.

“Look, I got ideas to help bruh, do you want to hear them or not?” Tredd insisted.

“If I do, will you leave me the fuck alone?” Luche droned.

“No promises.” Tredd grinned.

“Fine,” Luche huffed as he rolled over to face Tredd and ripped his curtain back. “What?” Luche demanded.

“Bruh, you were ready to kill me the moment you thought Ada would get hurt, no guy gets that fired up and ready to go on the rampage unless he really loves the girl.” Tredd grinned victoriously as Luche narrowed his eyes and looked out to see if anyone was listening or paying attention to their conversation.

“Oh relax, no one gives a shit. Look, the way I see it, Sylva hired you to be Ada’s bodyguard right? To protect her from everything and take care of her right?” Tredd reasoned.

“She didn’t _hire_ me to do it but yeah.” Luche bit out.

“Damn, I was hoping you had some extra cash on you then.” Tredd teased before Luche grabbed his curtain to pull it back closed.

“Wait, wait, wait, that wasn’t my point, don’t be so hasty.” Tredd stopped him.

“My point is, you get to be her bodyguard and caretaker right?” Tredd furthered.

“Yeah,” Luche confirmed.

“On Sylva’s dime.” Tredd furthered.

“It doesn’t matter who’s dime it is.” Luche shook his head no, not wanting Tredd to get any ideas.

“Well my point is, still, pull out all the stops, go whole hog on her, now’s your chance to really take her back man, take advantage of it and just lavish all the stupid shit on her you can. Spoil her rotten whether it’s your money or not. Prove that you can take better care of her than Cor ever could. We both know you win out financially at least. You two are still friends, it’ll grow into something more before you know it. Now all you gotta do is be the perfect prince charming you usually are _minus_ the uptight traitorous prick for snitching on us about the bus and you’ll be good to go.” Tredd grinned victoriously.

“I’m not a traitorous prick.” Luche argued.

“Yeah but you are hella uptight and you need to loosen up and have fun too, none of us can cut loose if you’re still uptight and we all think that everything we do is going to be repeated and reported to the biggest mom of all. Even if she’s the hottest MILF ever.” Tredd pointed out.

“Fine,” Luche groaned.

“That’s my bruh, happy to have you with us.” Tredd held out his fist for Luche to fist bump it which Luche returned their own bro handshake that was still unique to the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you get the references to Cor being immortal and Luche being a traitor? hahaha. those were fun. Everyone has a puzzle piece. hopefully they'll all work together to complete the puzzle before Gilgamesh burns the puzzle board. We'll see.


	6. Baby Bug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ada gets bit by the baby bug. Hard.

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND

 

Chapter 6

 

“So did you like your stuff?” Luche asked as he sat next to her at the restaurant that night for dinner.

“Yeah, thank you. Did you pick out this?” Ada asked as she tugged on her shirt.

“No, Sylva did. I helped with the jeans though, kept having to remind her that you’re not as tall as Luna.” Luche cocked a half grin.

“Well they’re perfect, I’m pretty sure there would be at least a kilometer of leg left if I tried to put her jeans on.” Ada snickered as she leaned her head his way and dropped her voice since Luna was just down the table from them which got him to snort a laugh too.   
“How much did Sylva spend on me anyway?” Ada asked.

“I didn’t keep track, and you shouldn’t either. That woman has her PHD in shopping, and I’m pretty sure that’s what she lives for, I swear I thought she wouldn’t be satisfied until she got your literal weight in clothes and of course I had to be her pack horse and carry it all and by the end of it, I’m barely crawling on the ground, a mountain of clothes and stuff piled high on my back like a camel, begging for mercy, my limbs are rubber, my fingers were worn down to the nubs from trying to crawl across the mall on my belly as Sylva’s just piling more and more on top of me, I think it might take you like what? Five? Ten years to wear it all?” Luche joked as Ada and everyone else was dying laughing from the faces and noises and gestures Luche was making.

“I think I’ll get home and still have yet to wear the same shirt twice. It is a little ridiculous.” Ada giggled. “But I am grateful for it all.” Ada added.

“She knows you are.” Luche reassured her as he bounced his other leg in a mix of nerves and excitement, because currently the whole group was trying to cram into two booths at the restaurant and Luche’s whole thigh was up against hers and he could feel the heat roll off of her and he could smell her new perfume and just her in general and this was the closest he’d been to her since they broke up and he was fighting with himself not to put his arm around her shoulders as his hands were itching to hold hers, he was so close but he had to keep a respectful distance. Maybe after they spent a little more time together and Gladio wasn’t watching them like a hawk from the other table. They had three weeks together, he could afford to take his time and go relatively slow. For now he had to make sure she enjoyed herself when she was with him and actually enjoyed being around him too.

“Did you get me my boots?” Ada asked Luche curiously.

“Yeah, do they fit alright?” Luche nodded.

“They fit amazing, I love them, they’re also really comfortable and they fit really well,” Ada praised and watched Luche’s smile got brighter as hers did the same.

“Good, I was worried they’d be too wide.” Luche noted.

“Nah, perfect.” Ada shook her head but crinkled her eyes and nose adorably before their salad’s came and Luche, without even thinking or missing a beat, just went ahead and scooped up her few rings of red onion off of it and put it with his own along with her croutons while Ada went ahead and stole all the cherry tomatoes from his salad, not that he didn’t like them, just that she loved them more and he had always given her his and just as he was about to get the last one he noticed Ravus giving him a meaningful look as Selena was biting her lips not to split her face in half grinning like an idiot to see Luche and Ada had similar couple’s eating habits that they had as they sat across from them.

“What?” Luche asked before he realized he was messing with Ada’s food just about the same time Ada realized the same thing and they were both dumb struck with awkwardness as they gave each other a series of looks as Ravus and Selena shared one of their own.

“I...I mean it still works for me if it works for you...getting...all my onions and croutons.” Ada offered to Luche.

“Yeah, yeah, that works, you still really like cherry tomatoes then, yeah that, this, um, still works, yeah, still works.” Luche nodded as he dug into his own salad as Ada did the same to hers as both of them quickly stuffed their mouths with salad to avoid talking about it further and making it even more awkward than it already was before Selena, graciously furthered the conversation.

“I didn’t know you liked cherry tomatoes, I love cherry tomatoes, have you tried the super sweet ones?” Selena asked Ada.

“Yes! I love those.” Ada confirmed.

“I was telling Rae that when he gets his apartment where Pelna and Yasmine have theirs that I wanted a nice patio garden with a bunch of cherry tomatoes while our house is being built.” Selena informed her.

“Oh that’ll be lovely.” Ada fawned. “I can’t keep a plant to save my life, I have two black thumbs.” Ada held up her thumbs and laughed as did everyone else.

That night Crowe kicked Libertus back onto the boy’s bus because she wanted Ada to sleep with her in the big bed in the back of the girl’s bus. Before they found out Crowe was pregnant, they rotated couples on the big bed so that everyone got a turn. But now she got it exclusively. Which was fine because a feature Sylva had put onto the buses was that all the bed bunks would slide out to meet the one across from the other so that there would be one big bed for a couple. So that usually meant that Pelna went and slept on the girl’s bus, in fact most of his things were neatly squared away in the bunk across from hers, he took care of the plants on the girl’s bus because the last time he got a plant on the boy’s bus, Tredd drunkenly pissed in it. Pelna also kept a small fish tank up and running in the girl’s bus as well that they all appreciated. Craig also slept on the girl’s bus, there was a pull out bed in the couch that was the only bed big enough to fit him. He also tended to make breakfast for all the girls too which they greatly appreciated. Pashmina liked to sleep on the boy’s bus with Gladio as did Cindy. That way there were still only four couples per bus because Selena and Luna preferred to sleep in hotels, of course that wasn’t to say they too enjoyed sleeping on the buses on the extra beds half the time because being with the group was still really fun and when that happened Nyx and Luna as well as Ravus and Selena liked to sleep on the girl’s bus, tonight however was different, Nyx and Luna as well as Ravus and Selena were staying on the boys bus since it had gotten cleaned up and was now much nicer and livable to keep Luche company. So while Luna and Selena were talking with Noctis and Ignis about songs, that left Nyx and Ravus to talk with Luche as they sat on the couch with him while they gorged on ice cream as they watched a movie all while Ada relaxed on the bed with Crowe as they went through the few baby things they had bought already, just a small box full, just a couple of gender neutral onesies and a cute little teddy bear outfit and a black baby blanket.

“These are so cute!” Ada fawned as she held the tiny onesie in her hands and fingered the soft fabric and imagined a little baby in it and felt her heart swell. “So how’s it like?” Ada asked.

“Honestly I don’t feel any different, physically at least, not yet. I don’t have morning sickness or anything yet, I still feel the same, but everyday Yasmine shows me I’m not and every day the little bean gets a little bigger.” Crowe couldn’t help but grin. “And every day she makes me drink these smoothies, at least she puts a lot of fruit in them so they taste ok. And being pampered by everyone isn’t nearly as awful as I thought it would be. Craig makes these big amazing breakfasts and Iggy makes the best coffee, even though I only get to drink one cup of coffee, it’s a big cup so we’re good. And I sneak onto the boys bus as much as I can to eat junk food otherwise I’m allowed _one_ , only one, junk food snack a day, whether it’s a twinkie or Cheetos or whatever. Otherwise it’s quite nice to be the queen bee for once, and as weird as it is, I’m seen as the good luck charm so all the guys give a little pat to the belly before they go onstage which makes me giggle every time.” Crowe admitted with a laugh. “I always thought I’d always love to be just one of the guys and all but I tell you what, all this girly shit is actually awesome. I never realized how much toxic masculinity I had until I started hanging around all these girls, because they’re beautiful inside and out while still being tough as nails and smart as hell and so funny and we kick ass and make money and look fabulous doing it and while Yasmine is a bit of a hard-ass and kind of like a drill Sargent, I love that about her. I mean it got us an extra ten grand because we don’t put up with shit, not from anyone or each other and you can’t argue that this isn’t the most amazing environment to grow a baby in. I mean we are living the dream! Noctis and his group are a rock band and we’re all roadies and it’s been the best job I’ve ever had, beats waiting tables and pays a hell of a lot better too and now that you’re here, everything’s perfect, well, as perfect as it can be.” Crowe beamed as she nudged Ada with her elbow as Ada hugged the onesie to herself and continued to pet it as it laid against her own belly as she felt the baby bug bite.

Later on, Ada laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling, her own hand over her lower belly as her fingertips traced a random pattern over her womb, thinking about everything, how cute of a baby Cor could give her, but she found herself frowning at the thought. He’d be working all the time and so would she if she had a baby, she’d have to put it in daycare and work even harder than she was already working and she’d miss all those milestones. And then she remembered that Cor had said on several occasions that he didn’t want kids and suddenly all she could see is his face of surprise if she got pregnant, and it would have to be by accident, there was no other way he would get her pregnant otherwise. Then all she could see is him being frustrated and overwhelmed and not happy at all and she felt her eyes water and a bitterness bloomed in her heart and a pit formed in her stomach before her brain sweetly tortured her with visions of what Luche would be like as a father, how happy he would be. How much he’d throw himself into fatherhood the same way Libertus was. How he’d probably treat her like she was super fragile and delicate and it wouldn’t be because he thought she wasn’t tough but because she was extra precious. How Luche probably wouldn’t let her work at all, keep her home, keep her pampered and well taken care of. And how Luche would leave work immediately and come straight home to see his baby’s first steps or their first roll overs or hear their first words. And how beautiful of a sight it would be to watch him hold his baby and change nappies and rock the baby to sleep and give the baby a bath. How proud he’d be. How if it was a girl, he’d dress her in all sorts of dresses and outfits and bows bigger than their head or if it was a boy, little suits for when he would take him into the office on those ‘bring your kids to work day’ and before Ada knew it she was silently laughing while crying at the same time.

“Ada? Are you ok?” Crowe asked as Ada’s sniffling woke her up.

“Yeah, just um,” Ada wiped at her eyes and turned towards her best friend. “Please, don’t say anything to anyone, but I want a baby too.” Ada whispered as Crowe pet her face affectionately and wiped her tears away.

“Awww, that baby bug bites hard huh?” Crowe gently teased.

“It does, God it does, it’s the worst possible time, Cor is playing with death as we speak and I’m hiding from the boogeyman and it would be hard, God it would be so hard to have a baby right now, it’s the last thing I need but it’s suddenly all I want.” Ada confessed, keeping her voice whisper quiet.

“Shh, it’s ok, it’s ok.” Crowe cooed softly and reassuringly as she hugged her.

“Yasmine said that some women have the mom chip in us and some don’t and we both do. She said that there is nothing more human or natural than to want a baby. And maybe if you were- Cor wouldn’t play with death so much. Hopefully he’d stay the hell away from it and it would be the kick in the pants that he’d need and would remind him of what’s really important and he’d really come around.” Crowe tried to encourage.

“But he’s already told me he doesn’t want any, at all, ever.” Ada whimpered.

“Well that was just in passing, every guy is like that until they’re faced with the woman they love who really really wants them, then they usually change their tune. Let him get Gilgamesh first. He’ll feel safer putting a bun in the oven if that monster is behind bars. All of us will. Then see, just for now, wait and see.” Crowe advised as Ada nodded and hugged Crowe even tighter as the two finally fell asleep.

“Luche!” Ada called out as she watched their son do his best to try to crawl on the floor. “Come here! I think London’s gonna crawl!” Ada squealed in delight as she sat on the floor and beckoned her son to her as Luche quickly ran down the steps just in time to see London finally support himself by his hands and his little knees and the biggest, brightest smile graced his huge, toothless mouth as he did and oh so wobbly- he finally figured out to use the opposite hand for each knee because before he had tried to use both on each side and always fell over to that side but now that he stayed upright and wasn’t falling, he was getting the hang of it as both Luche and Ada sat down on the floor and encouraged him to come to them and cheering him on which he happily shrieked and giggled at as Luche was recording this on his phone before he finally managed to crawl across the carpet at them, both of them cheering and kissing him and each other and hugging him in a family hug and praising him before they put him back down and had him keep crawling before they got it on video of him crawling to both of them.

“He’s perfect Love, thank you.” Luche thanked her as he hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek, neck and shoulder, everywhere his mouth could reach.

“London’s the one who crawled.” Ada giggled.

“Yeah but he wouldn’t be getting to this milestone without you doing all the hard work of staying at home with him and working with him all day.” Luche cooed as he held her face in his hands as he stared adoringly at her before he kissed her firmly, a kiss she whole heartedly returned as she happily pulled herself flush with him as he held her securely in turn before London shrieked which broke them apart to see he had crawled all the way to their feet and was trying to pull himself up their legs.

“I got ya baby boy.” Luche cooed as he let her go to pick his son up and kiss his perfectly chubby cheeks before he held their son and hugged her again.

“Thank you for giving me the best thing ever. I just...I can’t thank you enough, every day I wake up and I see him and I am in awe because he’s amazing and he’s something that _you made_ and he’s perfect and you’ve worked so hard and I can’t thank you enough.” Luche thanked her earnestly as he got choked up as Ada got choked up herself as she pressed her head to his chest and stared at London, noting his strawberry blonde hair and perfect aqua eyes that were a perfect match to Luche’s own aqua eyes. He was the perfect mix of both of them.

Ada woke up, feeling refreshed and lighter today than she felt yesterday. And she actually enjoyed her dreams this time, usually she felt so guilty for having them. But this time, not nearly as much. Craig made her a proper English breakfast, complete with beans and even beans on toast which she hadn’t gotten a chance to enjoy in a long time and she thoroughly enjoyed it especially once everyone else got on board and ate too, Luche sitting next to her and trying the beans on toast and liking it. Which made her really happy too. Cor had tried it exactly once and hated it.

“If we have time, I’d like to go baby clothes shopping for Crowe,” Ada told Luche who nodded and suggested Crowe and Libertus go ahead and start their baby registry as they all went to the closest Babies R Us as Luche wanted to get something for them too, something small for now, he found a few bibs he liked and a couple of pacifiers and a little stuffed giraffe and even Tredd and Stella joined in, Tredd picking out a stuffed elephant sewn to a blanket while Stella got a unicorn one.

“Oh my god, look at the palm trees on this one!” Ada awed as she held a onesie that had little palm trees on it and held it up to her own belly as Luche couldn’t help but smile as his instincts were screaming at him that Ada was getting bit by the baby bug too. And to this, he got such mixed emotions, on one side it was vindication because she did want to be a mom after all while on the other side, panic gripped his chest because if she would get pregnant with Cor’s baby, there’s no way in hell she would ever leave Cor for him.

“Aww, let me get a picture!” Crowe grinned as she got a pictures of Ada with the onesie over her own belly. And sent it to Cor and waited to see what he thought, and continued to look around the store, and then waited and waited some more before she finally impatiently called him as they were in an isle as Luche crept forward to try and eavesdrop as he pretended to look at stuff behind her.

“Hey, are you ok?” Ada asked once Cor picked up the phone.

“Yeah I’m fine, I’m busy,” Cor answered, his tone clearly irritated.

“Well, could you spare me a few seconds at least?” Ada asked.

“What? Is something wrong?” Cor asked.

“No, just, did you get my picture that I sent?” Ada asked as she nibbled on her thumb nail.

“No, what...OH NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT. NO WAY. I TOLD YOU I DON’T WANT KIDS, NO WAY, GET THAT THOUGHT OUT OF YOUR HEAD RIGHT NOW, YOU HEAR ME? NO. OK, I GOTTA GO.” Cor barked as Ada and Luche both recoiled from the volume at which he did so before he hung up and Luche’s face became pained as he could practically hear her hopes and heart shatter from there.

“but...” Ada whispered as she looked at her phone and saw that the call was ended and felt the world crash in around her as her hopes were dashed to pieces and Luche wanted to beg and plead for her to leave Cor, that if she wanted a baby, he would gladly give her one, he’d gladly give her whatever she wanted if she would just want him back in return but he knew it wasn’t the right time for that.

“You ok?” Luche murmured as he turned to see Ada deep in thought, her eyes glazing with unshed tears as he took a few steps to put himself in front of her as he gingerly reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder blade.

“He’s a, I just...I caught him at a bad time.” Ada excused weakly as she fought not to cry and Luche warred with himself not to grab her shoulders and shake some sense into her. If she was making excuses like this for him over this shit, what _else_ would she make excuses for?

“That shouldn’t matter and you shouldn’t excuse his behavior like that. I know things are tense right now but that was uncalled for.” Luche softly but firmly argued as Ada nodded in agreement but wouldn’t look at him as she wiped her tears away and pulled herself back together before he just couldn’t help but hug her for a few long moments before Crowe came looking for them, having abandoned trying to carry everything in her arms before Luche let her go.

“Everything ok?” Crowe asked having caught Luche step away from Ada.

“Yeah, Ada’s just worried about Cor not texting her back.” Luche covered before he got his things that he had put down on the shelf to hug her and put them into the cart before he moved down the aisle as Ada smiled appreciatively at his back, appreciating how Luche was taking the high road and not throwing Cor under the bus, like she was sure he wanted to. Damn, he really did improve.

“Aw, I’m sure he’s just really busy, kicking ass and all.” Crowe comforted as Ada nodded in agreement as Luche walked over to one of the registers and got a gift card while everyone else was still shopping and filled the gift card sleeve out before joining the rest of them again. Luche then secretly handed the gift card in it’s envelope like sleeve to Ada.

‘Just in case you either _can’t_ or _don’t_ get the idea out of your head.’ Luche wrote on the inside before noting that the gift card now had $500 loaded onto it and Ada’s face when she read it made it worth every penny, to watch her face transform and shift from confusion to elation before she launched herself into his arms.

“Thank you,” Ada thanked him and Luche caught her and held her fast and again just wanted to tell her everything but couldn’t get his mouth to cooperate. “Just, don’t _say_ anything, to anyone. Ok?” Ada whispered.

“Ok,” Luche agreed as he soaked up and relished the moment before Libertus oohed at motorized swings that mimicked a car’s driving motion and did all kinds of things.

“OK, how about I just get you a gift card and we put this on the registry for now, because if we buy this now, only the dogs will use it and it’s gonna take up too much space on the bus.” Luche proposed, trying to be Libertus’ voice of reason.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Libertus agreed as he still took the scan gun and scanned it to add to the registry.

“Hey, so I had an idea.” Luche began once everyone was in line to check out as everyone looked to him to finish his thought.

“Since Ada missed Florida and Disney World, we should take her to Disneyland. At least get one Disney in right?” Luche proposed and watched as Ada lit up to that idea too.

“Hell yeah, let’s do it.” Crowe insisted before they all bought their stuff and got out of there and got ready to go to Disneyland.

Ada was so excited for Disneyland and Luche was excited to not to ride anything by himself or with a stranger for once and he was sure he was going to melt his credit card but he didn’t care. He was going to buy anything Ada wanted and he was going to make sure nothing was out of her reach. He, Ada, Crowe and Libertus all shared the best Pirates of the Caribbean themed suite at the Disneyland Hotel and got Libertus and Crowe into the big bed and himself and Ada into the ‘kids’ room which had two twin beds, it was just one step above ‘there was only one bed’ trope. But hey, if it worked for Ravus and Selena, it could work for him, hopefully. Ada and Crowe happily explored the room as Luche and Libertus sat down on the leather couch and rested. The room had an outstandingly amazing bathroom before there was a call and the whole group was going to hit the spa and Luche made sure Ada got every single possible treatment and add on in addition to her multiple massages and facials while also pampering himself quite a bit. And they still took the longest, Selena and Luna tying for second longest since they were also the recipient of the same treatments that Ada had been. Between the wraps and scrubs and things.

“I feel like my whole body is made out of jelly.” Ada giggled as she emerged from the spa, glistening and positively glowing and Luche saw his opportunity and took it.

“Come on.” Luche invited as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her bridal style back to the room as Ravus and Selena were following behind them, Ravus carrying Selena just like Luche was carrying Ada while Nyx was doing the same, Ravus having gotten Selena the Princess suite while Nyx and Luna enjoyed the Adventure Land suites.

“Aww, you didn’t have to carry me,” Ada cooed as she happily relaxed and realized he had gotten stronger since the last time he did this. He was carrying her as if she didn’t weigh anything at all which was quite impressive to her.

“Yeah but I wanted to, do you mind?” Luche asked and Ada shook her head ‘no’ with a bright giddy smile. Cor was usually too tired to do this, either that or was fucking her while he carried her. But Luche was doing this without even a hint of that. He was just... _being perfect_. Even so, she supposed it was a bit of a romantic gesture, one she really appreciated. Luche put her into bed to rest before dinner and Ada and Crowe had a lot of fun getting ready for dinner, Sylva had thankfully packed a couple of nice dresses for Ada, a cute little black dress that fit her remarkably well and between that and Crowe actually curling her hair and her own and putting on some amazing makeup and Ada put on one of the diamond necklaces that Sylva let her borrow.

They met back up at Steakhouse 55 and Luche was once again a perfect gentleman and pulled her chair out for her and encouraged her to order whatever her heart desired and to not look at the prices of anything. And because all the seafood was thoroughly cooked, Crowe could eat all she wanted and her and Ada chowed down on the crab cakes and the bloody Mary shrimp cocktail and scallops before they shared the Porterhouse for two with lobster macaroni and cheese and risotto while Luche enjoyed the filet mignon with Brussels sprouts and green beans forestiere and Libertus wolfed down the ribeye with the hassle-back potato and macaroni and cheese too and they all tried to get something different so they could still all share and enjoy as much as they could. For dessert the girls shared the 24 layer chocolate cake and somehow found room to stuff that into their stomachs.

“Oh God, that was so good, I’m so full.” Ada whimpered as she held her slightly bulging stomach as Luche walked her to the room letting her take his arm this time.

“Well I’m happy you liked it.” Luche grinned.

“How much was dinner?” Ada asked curiously.

“Don’t worry about it, I don’t want you to feel guilty about any of it. Just enjoy yourself and have fun. That’s it.” Luche reassured her.

Once Luche got in bed and settled did he finally let himself collapse but looking over at Ada’s sleeping form in the next bed over had him hoping that hopefully, relatively soon, they could sleep together again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel so bad for this chapter being so short. (aka less than 10k words and this one is less that 5k.) But trust me, the time jump will be worth it. Because THE CRUISE OMG. Also it's been over 2 DECADES since I was in Disneyland last, (I was 9 and I'm in my early 30's now) so I had to go pull most of this chapter from research on the internet and imagination rather than experience whereas Cedar Point, A LOT MORE EXPERIENCE THERE. I will write you 100k on Cedar Point and it's awesomeness easy. Now the cruises, it's been a little while, (like a literal decade) since my last cruise but it's fresh in my memory because it was a lot of fun, (despite EVERYONE in my group getting sick and we jokingly referred to it as DEATH CRUISE 08 I didn't get sick until the last day tho and right after we got off the boat itself had to go into dock and get thoroughtly scrubbed because everyone got sick, but still, for me personally it was still a lot of fun so I'll be drawing from that (Aaliyah- Rock The Boat* plays in the background)


	7. Get Ready to Cruise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the gang prepares to embark on a cruise to Hawaii.

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND - Chapter 7

“So? How was Disney?” Sylva asked Ada as all the girls walked into a designer dress shop as they looked for formal attire for the cruises.  

“It was amazing,” Ada sighed wistfully as she went through the rows of dresses and found a few that she liked.

“Oh good, did Luche behave himself?” Sylva asked.

“Of course, he’s been the perfect gentleman.” Ada reassured Sylva.

“Good.” Sylva nodded before they all got dozens of dresses and tried them all on.

“Oh this is gorgeous on you!” Sylva praised as she watched Ada twirl in an ivory gown that perhaps looked a touch bridal on Ada and Sylva knew that once Luche would see Ada in this gown, he’d be thinking wedding bells too and knew she just  _had to_  get it for her. “It looks divine, I absolutely insist on getting it for you and I have the perfect pearl necklace to go with it too.” Sylva urged her.

“Ok,” Ada nodded in agreement before she put on another dress, this one a brilliant aquamarine that just made her hair pop in contrast. It was perfectly gorgeous and elegant.

“And that one too.” Sylva insisted which got Ada to squeal and giggle and twirl in her dress as the other girls emerged from their dressing rooms, showing off their dresses to Sylva too, wanting to get her stamps of approval too which Sylva was more than happy to give out. And once all the girls got all the dresses they wanted and needed, Sylva was more than happy to buy them all before making sure that the guys got the proper suits and things to match on the other end of the store.

“Lu,” Sylva called out as she looked at a few shirts and ties.

“Yes?” Luche asked as he came to stand next to her.

“I’m really proud of you.” Sylva offered.

“Thank you?” Luche returned, not quite sure why she’d be proud of him.

“You’ve done really good with Ada and I wanted to make sure you knew that you were doing well.” Sylva encouraged.

“Oh, thanks.” Luche nodded.

“Now I need you to promise me something.” Sylva began and turned to make sure he was looking her in the eye before she continued. “You need to make sure you don’t have sex with her while on the cruises.” Sylva urged, dropping her voice to a soft whisper so that only Luche could hear her.

“Uh, ok.” Luche frowned in confusion, he had thought that would have been a given.

“I know it seems silly right now, but trust me, on the boat, wearing what she will be wearing, it’ll be a temptation and it’s of paramount importance that you make an honest woman out of her. She cheated once and from here on out, if she cheats on Cor with you, it’ll form a habit that will spell disaster for you both. Just trust me on this. Don’t kiss her, don’t give her any carnal pleasures whatsoever. This will be a new start for you both, give yourselves the best start you can, and that starts with respecting her and her current relationships, however doomed they may be. You need to do the right thing. Not what ‘feels right’ in the moment. But the right and proper thing over all.” Sylva urged before she got Ravus’ attention and brought him over.

“Ravus, I’m trying to make a point to Luche, when Selena was with Pelna and you two were getting close, did you two ever cross the line physically  _before_  her relationship with Pelna ended?” Sylva asked lowly.

“No, not at all, and I’m glad we didn’t. I mean _ **it sucked**_ , like  _a lot_  in those moments because there were so many times I wanted to, I would have given everything for it but looking back means that neither of us have any regrets with the way we got together and respecting her relationship with Pelna then- means that my relationship with her is respected now. It’s something you have to do if you don’t want the past repeating itself and I know Selena is much happier with herself and rests easy because of it too.” Ravus urged Luche.

“I don’t see why you’re making such a big deal about this, I knew going in that it would have to be like that.” Luche assured them.

“Did Ada get a white dress for the cruise or something?” Ravus asked his mother, trying to figure out what would prompt his mother to have this conversation before it dawned on him.

“Ivory. Wedding bells were going off in my own head when I saw her in it. She’s lovely, just, stay strong Lu, your future depends on it.” Sylva repeated as she grabbed Luche by the upper arms and shook him a little to emphasize her point with a laugh.

“Really?” Luche asked, a dopey grin spreading across his face.

“Yeah, you’re gonna have fun. Just, not  _too much_  fun.” Sylva narrowed her eyes playfully before she made sure all the guys were squared away too.

The next morning they were all in the terminal including Johnny, Anna and the twins and Dani, who had sorely missed Ravus and Selena who in turn had sorely missed them and outright refused to put down the twins, Selena commandeering Gabby as Ravus kept Izzy and Dani as they were waiting to board the cruise ship, all the dogs on leashes since the cruise ship had a dog park and a cat lounge on board and accommodations for dogs including a dog daycare so Ada wouldn’t have to be separated from Baxter, Crowe and Libertus could take Otis, Pashmina and Gladio could take Dianna and the Nox Fleuret- Caelums could take Pryna and Umbra and even Duchess was in a deluxe cat carrier, and Iris and Craig could take Noche since all the dogs had been traveling with the young adults all summer.

Sylva had gotten everyone suites, however with Ada being an add on and Hazel and Titus joining them too. It was a push to have everyone more or less together and on the same floor at least. Sylva was only slightly evil and mostly scheming, making sure Luche and Ada had side by side rooms where they could both sit on their balconies and see each other and talk to each other. This new cruise ship had  _ **everything**_. It had rock climbing walls, water sports simulators, it’s own water park, a traditional as well as an open dining option with over a dozen restaurants and buffets and golf, both a mini golf course and a golfing drive simulator, bumper cars, laser tag, an arcade that rivaled Dave and Busters, sports courts, an obstacle course, a sky diving simulator, zip lines, two trampoline parks, one was a traditional one and the other was with the harness and bungee chords so you would really jump high and even a trapeze school that had gymnastic equipment and a dozen different niche clubs and concert halls, ice skating, an escape room, a casino, dozens of shops on the boardwalk and throughout the ship, an out of this world spa and a bunch of other amenities that every active teenager and young adult could possibly want including loads of things for Dani and even a daycare for the twins.  _It was perfect_.

Sylva got everyone’s boarding passes and room keys handed them out before they all waited to board, most of them thankfully having games on their phones and tablets as Sylva, Lunafreya, Ravus, Luche and Ignis did some last minute business for Miracles from their laptops while Regis caught up with Noctis. Ravus only having a little trouble since Izzy was in a carrier strapped to his chest and Dani draped herself across his lap and shoulder and cuddled into his chest while he reached around both of them to type on his laptop. 

“So how are you doing Hun?” Titus asked as he and Ada sat down side by side as Hazel was doing some last minute business of her own on her own laptop from her spot next to Sylva at the computer table, one of dozens that was specifically built that had dozens of outlets so that the laptops and cell phones and other electronics could charge while the guests waited to board the ship.

“Doing much better.” Ada smiled happily as she had Baxter laying on her lap as Titus pet Baxter too. “How was the wine tour?” Ada asked Titus curiously.

“I couldn’t tell the fucking difference between the cheap stuff and the good stuff, wine is wine in my book, the whole time I couldn’t help thinking…‘I could go for a whiskey right about now’, beer on the other hand, that’s more my speed, a good porter or stout and I’m good to go and thankfully there was plenty of that too.” Titus chuckled which got Ada to snicker a laugh. “But it made Hazel happy and we had a lot of fun and I’m glad we went,” Titus shrugged but smiled happily nonetheless since he hadn’t gotten a real vacation in..he couldn’t remember when. “Got to have a lot of really good cheese and charcuterie though and all the food was outstanding. Granted, not as good as Hazel can make it but pretty close.” Titus appraised because to him, Hazel was the best chef ever and made everything great and it was hard for any food to equal hers since she was his gold standard.

“Aw, I’m glad you had fun. The gang took me to Disneyland. That was epic and awesome and amazing and I got my real first spa day the day before and I felt like jelly afterwards.” Ada informed him proudly.

“Oh so you got your ears? Your Mickey or I guess in your case Mini ears?” Titus gently teased.

“Several pairs, yes.” Ada nodded. “And then we got to go to the beach and splash in the Pacific Ocean and go surfing. I think I swallowed half the ocean and seaweed touched my leg and I screamed bloody murder because I thought it was a jellyfish or a shark and I climbed Luche like a tree and nearly accidentally drowned him trying to get away from it.” Ada began as Titus barked a deep belly laugh just imagining that. “It was really hilarious, everyone laughed and it was recorded on the waterproof go-pros.” Ada giggled. “And then Tredd found a dead slash rotting fish on the beach and tormented everyone with it before Yasmine and the tothers beat his ass that he was gonna make Crowe miscarry because of how many diseases were probably crawling on it.” Ada recounted.

“Good for her.” Titus grinned proudly.

“And then we had a bonfire and a BBQ right on the beach too and charted a big fishing boat and went fishing and then Noctis and his band did a few shows over the weekend which were  _ **amazing**_ , because when they weren’t on stage, which even when they were, I got to do back up vocals which was epic and we got to enjoy the rest of the concerts and go back stage and meet all the other bands and hang out and get pictures and get autographs and merch from the other bands and I got to help with the band merch so that all of us could take shifts and have breaks and stuff and that was really fun and we made money hand over fist. And everyone has gotten along really well and there wasn’t any fighting or arguing about anything. And we’ve all been taking care of each other and Craig’s been doing most of the cooking and he is an outstanding cook, like, Nyx and Libertus can cook really great too and there have been so many times where we just raid a Sam's Club and we cook for ourselves instead of going out to eat for every meal and between Pashmina, Yasmine and Pelna cooking a lot of Indian food, I mean their chicken curry and tiki marsala is  _phenomenal_ , and their chicken Biryani rice is outstanding and Luna, Rae and Stella all do wonderful French cooking and Iris and Gladio bring the Spanish flavors and Cindy, I know she doesn’t look it but she has a Paula Dean in her and she makes pies,  _from scratch_ , like old fashioned, flaky crust pies made with lard, that are better than any bakery and she’s gotten all of us into it and Selena and Nyx bring a lot of the Mediterranean flavors and they make the best baklava and pitas and hummus and all kinds of stuff. And even Tredd cooks, he makes  _the best_  mashed potatoes, actually potatoes period he makes all the potatoes the best, not to be racist but because he’s Irish, I think it runs in his blood and mac and cheese with  _so much cheddar_. And Libertus is of course Italian so he’s made fresh pasta and these sauces from scratch that take like two to three days to make but they’re the best ever. And Iggy orchestrates all of us between the two kitchens on the bus and even on the girls bus there’s an electric smoker so we smoke a lot of foods, like salmon and cheese and of course every meat imaginable and make our own jerky and Iggy makes the best coffee, I don’t know how he does it but he does and it’s amazing and Luche and I just do whatever everyone else tells us to do. I swear I think I’ve gained like ten pounds since I’ve been with them, I’ve eaten so much, but it’s all been  _so good_.” Ada beamed happily.

“So has Lu been behaving himself?” Titus asked curiously.

“Oh yeah, he’s been the perfect gentleman. Like  _perfect_.” Ada answered with fawning, adoring smile and a wistful sigh and Titus cocked a half grin at that. Ada still loved him too. He supposed it was inevitable. Like moth to a flame but he wasn’t sure who was the moth and who was the flame at this point.

“Good.” Titus nodded.

“Oh and then the guys had a video interview! That was the best! Did you see it?” Ada asked as she pulled her phone out and showed Titus the video on YouTube.  

“ _Hi I’m Laney for Rock360 and I’m with the Chocobros! Say hi guys!” Laney invited before they all waived to the camera, Noctis, a little awkwardly still._

“ _So anyone who knows you, knows you got your start performing for kids at Miracle Hospital and your videos went viral and you’ve gained quite a bit of notoriety on the circuit and in the rocker community for being as diverse and as inclusive as yours is and the band it seems, fluctuates because sometimes, it’s the four of you and other times there’s like a dozen people on stage, what can you tell me about that?” Laney asked._

“ _Well, how that started is some venues want to see the girls that they saw in videos so that’s where we ask the girls for guest appearances.” Ignis explained._

“ _Aww, that’s really great that they can do that. And speaking with the other bands I understand that your crew is unique and that the only people who are actually hired are your drivers, otherwise it’s just you and your friends and it’s noted that it’s very much like a family and you’re all pretty close knit.” Laney noted._

“ _Yeah we are, it’s awesome, it’s us and our significant others which is great and we all get along and take care of each other.” Gladio grinned proudly._

“ _Now I also know that there is a lucky charm.” Laney giggled._

“ _Yes! That’s Crowe, she got pregnant right in the beginning of the tour so right before we go on stage we pat the **bebeh**  belly for good luck.” Prompto answered before the camera cut to Crowe behind the scenes eating a doughnut and waived as Libertus pet her belly to illustrate._

“ _And that’s Libertus, her fiance, he’s the proud father, obviously.” Prompto beamed as Libertus nodded ‘yes’ emphatically and gave a double thumbs up with a bright cheesy grin around his own stuffed cheeks since he was eating doughnuts too._

“ _Aww, that’s adorable.” Laney fawned before she continued to talk to them about their music and their songs and what their songs meant to them and how fun their tour had been and what other bands they had been performing with before they ended the interview._

“Aw, that’s awesome.” Titus grinned proudly before they boarded the cruise ship and got to their rooms. Ada squealing in delight at how magnificent her suite was, especially since she got it all to herself, well kind of, she had Baxter with her and that’s all she could ever ask for, there were already food and water dishes set up for him too. This next week was going to be heaven. She unpacked her carry on bag and by the time she was done, her luggage got delivered and once that was all put away she rejoined the rest of the group, dropping Baxter off at the on board doggy daycare, sticking close to Luche and Titus as they explored the ship before hitting up one of the buffets.

“So has Cor ever told you why he never wanted kids?” Ada asked Titus who nearly choked on his spit and tripped over his own feet as he felt his soul leave his body to go to the astral plane for just a moment to have a mini freak out as he then tried to grab Cor from the astral plane to come here and have this conversation with her because while he felt like a father figure. This was just...not his area of comfortable conversation topics but Regis was too far away to pull into this to deal with this, Regis was better at this kind of thing but if Ada felt comfortable enough to bring this up, he needed to handle this with care.

“Sweetie, I think he’s seen too much of the worst of humanity to try to bring life into the world, at least, that’s what he’s told me, why?” Titus asked.

“Just, with Crowe being pregnant the baby bug is going around.” Ada shrugged as she then looked over at Selena who had Gabby on her hip while she piled her own plate with food for the both of them while Ravus held Izzy and did the same while also helping Dani with her plate and the five of them already looked like the perfect family and Ada felt a pang of jealousy while also noticing how Luche was also helping Dani and was doting on her too and Ada felt like she was seeing a glimpse of what he would be like as a wonderful father too and it both warmed while rendered her heart a bit because she wanted that too but she couldn’t have it.

“Well don’t let it bite you too hard. Babies are a lot of work, they’re loud and messy and stressful and will change your life forever.” Titus gently warned her with a slight air of a teasing tone even though he could see from his vantage point, Hazel talking with Crowe and when Hazel touched Crowe’s belly and just the look in her eyes and the expression on her face that she was getting bit by the baby bug and for the first time in his life, the baby bug bit him too and his slight panic at Ada mentioning babies suddenly vanished and was replaced by the urge and need to make a baby with Hazel, but he would have to make sure they were both in a position to feel safe enough to do so. Because while he was getting older, he wasn’t  _that old_ , not yet. 

“Besides, you’re still pretty young, how about you try getting to the legal drinking age in this country and enjoy your youth without kids first.” Titus gently encouraged Ada before he sat down with Hazel and he was just struck by how adorable their kids would be. So he just picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles sweetly as Hazel practically melted in her seat.

Truth be told, she was getting bit by the baby bug pretty hard too and it wasn’t the first time it bit, but it was the first time it bit with Titus and suddenly her mind started whirling with all of the possibilities. There was just two problems, 1. Gil. 2. Charlie. There’s no way with them still so close that she’d ever get the chance to have a family of her own. A relationship was already pushing it. Maybe Cor had what it took to end it. She was hoping that with all of them being gone, he would throw himself into his work unimpeded and not distracted by anything or anyone and finally be able to end this once and for all and with herself being out of the picture, she could distance herself. He had the next two weeks to do just that and she hoped he could do it, for all their sakes.

“Ok guys, who’s up for the rock wall?” Titus challenged the guys after they finished eating and went over to the rock wall, Titus and all the guys getting tethered in to race each other.

“Ok? Ready? Set? Go!” The climbing instructor challenged as they all raced up the walls, Ravus, Nyx, Luche and Titus got an early lead with Gladio, Prompto, Noctis and Ignis barely getting up there as the girls cheered them on, Regis cheering his sons and Titus on as Sylva was cheering everyone on while Hazel cheered for Titus the loudest but only seconded by Ada cheering on Luche. 

“How the hell are you climbing so fast?” Luche, Ravus and Nyx asked Titus as they watched him race up the wall with surprising agility for a man his size as they did their best to navigate the wall. But Titus had a trick up his sleeve, he had studied his wall from the moment he saw it and had mentally already mapped out his route and suddenly Hazel wasn’t the loudest cheerer, _Regis was_. Regis was because he wanted Titus to beat the younger kids to prove that age and wisdom sometimes gave you the advantage over youth and brute strength and in record time, Titus won by being the first to ring his bell at the top but Ravus and Nyx tied for second only a second later as they both held onto the wall and looked out over the sea and then looked down at the crowd below and waived before they went back down just as Luche and Gladio tied for third to reach the top, followed by Ignis who was fourth. Prompto and Noctis, Pelna and Libertus all tied for last. Sylva and Regis having to coach them on which foot holds and hand holds to use and Regis had an ice cold beer waiting for Titus when he came down.

“And to the victor goes the spoils.” Regis beamed proudly as Titus barked a deep laugh as he took it and quickly and easily drank it down as Regis drank one himself.

“Seriously, how did you do that Coach?” Nyx asked in astonishment.

“Study the wall, see? Look at your wall, it’s not random, see- there’s a pattern, see the zig zag?” Titus pointed out on Nyx’s wall, making sure Nyx followed his line of sight.

“Oh!” Nyx, Ravus, Luche and Gladio all groaned as they mentally figured out how they could have climbed their walls better.

“Rematch!” Nyx insisted just as Libertus came down his wall.

“No! I’m done, one was enough for me.” Libertus complained.

“I’ll go again.” Ravus offered.

“Me too.” Gladio and Luche added with grins, Luche agreeing if only to hear Ada cheering for him again. He had missed that more than words could say.

The second time around, all four boys were within hundredths of seconds between each other as they had taken Drautos’ advice and taken a moment as another round of competitors had used the walls to study the walls and mentally map out their plan of attack with great success before they all got dressed in their bathing suits and enjoyed the on board water park. It was going to be one hell of a week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK so this cruise ship is based off of Royal Carribean's Syphmony Of The Seas with a lot of twists, like a dog park and a cat lounge which they don't have but for the purposes of this story, they do. But this is a self indulgant fantasy story where I stopped giving fucks about real life accuracy a long time ago because I know real life sucks and this is my escape and it's totally ok if it's your escape too where the only thing that hurts IS THE DRAMA and THE ANGST sprinkled tastefully throughout the fluff.   
> And I'm sorry for taking so long to update, life went sideways and deaths in the family (extended family that I wasn't close to, I'm ok, just funerals and all that goes with them are a pain in the ass sometimes and dealing with family, both your own blood relatives and inlaws because my paternal grandmother died and my husbands great aunt died shortly after so we've done nothing but deal with extended family and trying not to kill problematic extended family which is HARD) And then I kept getting distracted with other stuff, and this chapter has been sitting on my desktop giving me that LOOK and I couldn't take it anymore and just got sick of rereading this over and over. So here you go.


	8. The floor drops...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> overview of the rest of the summer

Chapter 8

 

“Hey, Sylva?” Tredd asked as he came up to her in the hot tub. 

“Yes?” Sylva asked curiously.

“Hey, is it just me or is Ada preggers?” Tredd put to her as Sylva cut her eyes to Ada and watched her very carefully for a few minutes.

“Who have you told that to?” Sylva asked nonchalantly as she looked around to see if anyone was close enough to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Just Stella, she told me to ask you since you’re  _ The Oracle _ and the expert.” Tredd shrugged as Sylva hummed and nodded in agreement.

“You’re very perceptive and observant aren’t you?” Sylva put to him.

“Yeah, I guess.” Tredd nodded with a shrug.

“Ok, so here’s the deal, I will pay you five thousand dollars to be Luche’s shadow over the next two weeks, let Luche and Ada get close and bond emotionally but  _ the moment _ your instincts tell you they’re gonna fuck, intervene and ruin their moment and remind Ada that she’s dating Cor. They’re both going to hate you for the next two weeks but in a month, they’re both going to thank you in a really big way.” Sylva put to him.

“Make it ten grand and only if you tell me why.” Tredd returned with a smug grin as Sylva and Tredd had a stare off for a few long moments.

“Fifteen if I don’t have to tell you anything and you be a good guy and do me and Luche and Ada a solid by doing this.” Sylva countered.

“Twenty grand, in cash. You tell me why or I announce right now that she’s preggers.” Tredd grinned smugly before they had another stare off before Sylva took his hand and brought him face to face, close enough to kiss her but it was so that what Sylva would say, she could say quietly and softly so that  _ no one _ could overhear her. 

“Fine, when we get back, shit’s gonna hit the fan and there will be a war delivered to all of our doorsteps courtesy of Gilgamesh and everyone is going to be divided and pick sides and everyone is going to choose the wrong side except for you and for me because you are going to be on  _ my side _ . Ada has a 95-99% chance of loosing that baby because Gilgamesh will go after her first and all of us will be scrambling to protect her and if we’re lucky, we’re all gonna get through it with our lives. I have a plan that’s already in motion to keep us all safe. But in order for that plan to work, I need Luche and Ada to not  _ fuck it up _ by fucking each other because you and me caught this early. But by the time everyone else will catch it, if they fuck, Cor and Luche will both think that they lost a baby and that will lead to a whole different war that will destroy them both and Ada will get crushed with guilt because she couldn’t keep her legs closed. So you and me we’re gonna protect them by ruining their romantic moments. But part of this deal is you-  _ Will. Keep. Your. Mouth. Shut. _ You don’t tell  **_anyone_ ** , not even Stella, that we had this conversation or that Ada is expecting, you’re not even going to hint at it, in fact when we’re done talking, you’re going to go up to Stella and you’re going to tell her that I said that ‘Ada is not pregnant and that you’re seeing things and that your ego at being the first to see that Crowe was pregnant has you thinking every girl is’ but you’re going to be reluctant to say that, let her push you to get that answer, and you’re going to do your best to avoid the subject and you’re going to let her think she has this victory but when Ada looses that baby, and Stella comes back to you, you’re going to take her apology with grace and I’ll even publicly apologize for seeing what you saw and not realizing you were right and then when Luche asks, tell him that it was just a hunch but that I told you- you were wrong and to forget about it. So in the meantime when Luche asks why you’re being a dick, you’re going to remind him of the night of my wedding and how broken and betrayed he felt when Ada flirted with Cor while she was still with him and how it’s not right. He’s gonna glare, but he’s gonna see that you’re right and then he’s going to thank you and you’re going to keep it up and even by the end of the week and even next week, all you’re going to have to do is give them  _ a look _ and that will be enough. Now, give me your cell phone number so we can keep in touch, when I text you or call you, you will not ignore me, you will answer me immediately because our lives could be on the line.” Sylva explained.

“Deal.” Tredd grinned before they shook on it and Sylva put his phone number in her phone that was sitting next to her. 

“Now go, Regis is coming back,” Sylva urged him as she saw her husband coming back with her drink in hand.

“Yup, when am I going to get my money?” Tredd asked.

“Half tonight, half at the end of next week, I don’t want you blowing all of it while on the boat at the casino.” Sylva answered.

“Sounds good to me.” Tredd beamed happily as he got out of the hot tub.

“Oh and Tredd?” Sylva called after him.

“Congrats on having the gift.” Sylva grinned as Tredd offered her a bashful smile before he left and went back to Stella.

“So? What did she say?” Stella insisted.

“It doesn’t matter,” Tredd shook his head no as he grabbed his pop from her.

“Yes it does, come on, what did she say?” Stella narrowed her eyes playfully as she poked him in the rib cage as he moved to keep her from tickling him.

“Tell me, tell me now.” Stella insisted before she pinned him to his chair and pretended she was about to tickle him.

“Fine, fine, she said I was seeing things.” Tredd told her reluctantly.

“Ha! I knew it, see? You just got super lucky with Crowe, quit thinking you have _ the magical ability _ to see things that aren’t there. Now, let’s just enjoy this expense free vacation from aunt Sylva.” Stella beamed as she kissed him before Tredd hiked his hips up to grind his hardening cock at her center.

“Care to enjoy something else?” Tredd hinted with a mischievous grin as he did it again and watched her reaction with delight.

“Yeah, come on,” Stella nodded as the two slipped away. 

Meanwhile Selena and Ravus were both lying under a cabana, putting sunscreen on the twins next to the pool after Selena had applied two layers of it to Ravus so he wouldn’t burn.

“Your hair has gotten lighter.” Selena noted as she watched him out of the corner of her eye as he made sure to get every nook and cranny of Izzy.

“It does that. When I was a kid, my mom complained it used to turn white. It nearly did when my dad died.” Ravus answered as he fed Izzy another handful of blueberries to keep her sated and still.

“Really?” Selena asked as she did a double take and imagined his hair white.

“Yup. Marie Antoinette syndrome. I actually colored my hair darker blonde for a year or two to keep it normal.” Ravus revealed.

“Huh,” Selena hummed as she finished getting Gabby covered in sunscreen and proceeded to feed her a few of the blueberries too before she let Gabby rest on her chest and stroked her little back lovingly as she watched Tredd and Sylva talk with curiosity.

“Rae?” Selena asked.

“Hmm?” Ravus looked up from Izzy to her before he followed Selena’s finger to see Tredd talking to his mother.

“What the hell is going on there?” Ravus frowned in confusion as he watched Tredd and his mother have a stare off.

“I don’t know. Something to do with Stella I would think.” Selena ventured.

“Maybe.” Ravus tilted his head curiously before he finished up with Izzy and had her sit on his lap and dig into the rest of the blueberries.

“That’s a negotiation if I ever saw one.” Selena noted as she watched Tredd and Sylva talk.

“Yeah it is.” Ravus agreed. “Whatever it is, has her hackles up.” Ravus noted as he read his mother’s body language.

“I wonder what it’s about.” Selena mused aloud.

“Me too.” Ravus hummed.

“I hope it’s not us.” Selena muttered under her breath.

“No, it’s not us.” Ravus shook his head as he watched Tredd and his mother continue to talk before they seemed to reach an agreement, wishing he could read lips better than he could.

“Nyx and Luna?” Selena wondered as she cut her eyes over to them swimming in the pool with Dani.

“I don’t think so.” Ravus shook his head as he wouldn’t take his eyes off of them.

“Something ‘half’, she’s hired him for something.” Ravus realized as he watched his mother’s mouth intensely.

“What would your mother  _ hire _ Tredd  **_for_ ** ?” Selena asked.

“I don’t know, let’s just watch him and see what he does,” Ravus urged as they both watched Tredd go back to Stella before they talked and slipped away.

“That’s just weird.” Selena shrugged as she turned her attention back to Gabby, who was trying to eat most of the blueberries and eating them by the heaping handful.

“Yeah it is,” Ravus nodded in agreement before he saw Dani swim up to Craig and plead to get yeeted into the pool which he obliged as Selena and Ravus both snickered at the squealing screeching Dani made as she got some impressive air before the other kids came up to him and got yeeted too.  

For the next two weeks, Tredd did as Sylva asked and let Ada and Luche draw close and have all kinds of time to reconnect but the moment either one of them got that ‘look’ he was there to ruin it. Tredd, to keep from getting suspicious however, had to do it with some of the other couples too and play it off as him just being a dick. Even Stella was at a loss as to what had gotten into him. 

Meanwhile Cor used the break in not having Ada around to worry about him to throw himself completely into his work and he got dangerously close. So close he could practically feel Gilgamesh’s wrists in his cuffs and saw him when he closed his eyes and had dream after dream of killing him and ending it while Hazel, Titus and Sylva could only pray he succeeded. 

The last night of the last week of the cruise was the last formal night and Sylva was perhaps extra evil in that she had the DJ play ‘‘What Side Of Love” by Parachute and watched Luche dance with Ada as she and Tredd both grinned at each other as they watched Luche dance with Ada before Tredd’s phone dinged and was notified of an electronic deposit into his account and grinned wider. 

“Job well done.” Sylva toasted casually as she clinked her glass with his. 

“So how fast are things going to go to shit when we get back?” Tredd murmured quietly. 

“Relatively quickly I would think, Cor’s probably been throwing himself completely into pursuing Gilgamesh quite hard. Judging by how much Clarus has been texting Regis and how tense Regis has been the last two weeks.” Sylva revealed. “Could be hours, could be days, possibly weeks, although if it takes more than a month, I’ll be surprised, probably just about the time everyone’s guard is down.” Sylva added as Tredd nodded. 

“So basically wait until Hazel gets the warning.” Tredd offered lowly. 

“Good for you figuring that out.” Sylva congratulated proudly. 

“Yeah, it wasn’t rocket science, she at the drop of a hat decided to come on a three week vacation with us? She’s ordered in Mandarin at the asian restaurants on both ships and she’s been checking her own phone just as much as Regis has been checking his. I mean both of their last names are Stevens for crying out loud and she does have you know, the same accent that Charlotte has and their speech patterns are the same, the same way sisters or mothers and daughters have the same speech patterns, like you and Luna do. And the way she looks at Ada is kind of a dead giveaway.” Tredd murmured. 

“Yeah,” Sylva had to admit. 

“But I take it since I’m the only one who’s been around Charlotte  _ and Hazel _ , that I’m the one who knows half of that.” Tredd furthered. 

“Correct.” Sylva nodded. “Remember, lips sealed Dearest.” Sylva reminded him before Tredd gestured that his lips were zipped closed.  

When they all did disembark on the boats and finish up the rock tour and Luna and her group finish looking at all the houses in Colorado and Montana before coming home just in time to go back to school, Ada was the first one to be dropped off, Crowe helped cart all of her things inside and Ada was actually disappointed that Cor wasn’t even home and the place looked haphazard. Like all he had done was eat and sleep here while she was gone. She tidied up and freshened up the place as she waited for him to come home before she got irritated and just called him. 

“Yeah?” Cor asked when he answered his phone. 

“Hey, long time no see, guess who’s home?” Ada asked as she sat on the couch and let Baxter lay on her lap. 

“Oh shit, you’re home already?” Cor realized as he looked at the time and realized it was like 8 in the evening. 

“Yeah, did you miss me?” Ada asked hopefully. 

“Yeah, yeah, of course I missed you, been missing you like crazy.” Cor reassured her as he quickly and busily shoved things into his bag to go home for the night. “Um, have you had dinner?” He asked as he realized he hadn’t eaten anything in the last….8 hours, maybe 9. 

“Yeah, Sylva made sure I ate before she dropped me off.” Ada answered. “Kind of been starving for something else though Love.” Ada confessed, maybe she just needed to reconnect with Cor physically to feel right again. Because the last month on the road with all her friends and especially being with Luche again, it had her feeling off in a way she couldn’t define. 

“I’ll be home as fast as I can, don’t go anywhere Love.” Cor grinned happily as he came home as fast as he could, but not before grabbing a burger through a drive through to wolf that down on the way home too. 

“Ok, I won’t.” Ada giggled. 

Cor came home and fucked Ada good and hard, but just... _ a little too quickly _ since Cor hadn’t even had a chance to please himself while she was on the cruises and after two rounds and for Ada, one disappointing orgasm later, Cor was out like a light and Ada could only lay in bed and look up at the ceiling as her mind wandered back to the cruises and the few weeks of being on the road with the band. Luche had changed in all the right ways but was still the same in all the ways that mattered and were important. Even though he didn’t say it, he showed it a thousand times over that he still loved her, he still respected her and cherished her and made her feel  _ so special _ . All Cor cared about is making sure she didn’t cheat on him. Which honestly was a little off putting because his main concern should have been that she had fun and had a good time and missed him. And honestly, being away from him for so long, was sex with Cor always that... _ lackluster _ ? Like it got some kinks out of the pipes but that was it. Since when was sex with Cor that...  _ disappointing _ ? She would have thought he would have been ticking down the hours until she was home, had a meal ready and waiting for her, had rose petals and candles all over the house and been overly romantic and charming and would have been waiting at Sylva’s house for her… but now all she could feel was disappointment. Had he even missed her that much?  _ At all? _ He even had new scratches and bruises and new stitches, he had gotten hurt while she was gone and he didn’t tell her. Here she was hoping for a reconnection and she felt even more disconnected now than she did before she came home. Here she thought he would have just wanted to romance her right and then hear every little detail about her trip and her time away from him and it was like, he didn’t want that at all, he wanted to get his rocks off, made sure she was “good” and didn’t stray and then came back in one piece. What the fuck?! 

The next morning, Cor outright refused to let Ada leave the house to walk the dog and honestly tried to even keep her away from the windows. Ada felt like she was on house arrest. 

“Why?! Why can’t I just take Baxter on a fucking walk?!” Ada demanded angrily. 

“Because it’s not safe!” Cor finally snapped. 

“I was halfway across the country on a road trip of all things and on two cruises with thousands of strangers but walking the dog in  _ your neighborhood _ isn’t safe?” Ada questioned. “I need to go grocery shopping, I should be going back to work, I…” 

“You can’t, not without me.” Cor cut her off. “Just wait until I get home tonight.” Cor placated as he got ready for work. “Don’t worry about going back to work, we’re ok. You don’t need to work. There’s still plenty of food in the house, you’ll be fine, just stay away from the windows and don’t leave the house.” Cor commanded before he left for work leaving Ada to growl in frustration as she stared at the daggers into his back. This was  **_ridiculous_ ** . 

She didn’t listen, she still went to the store and got groceries and brought Baxter with her at least as she idly wondered what Luche was up to before she texted him. 

‘Hey, what are you up to?’ She texted him as she waited in line at the grocery store. 

‘Choosing an apartment. Lol’ he texted back immediately. 

‘Really? Where?’ Ada blinked in surprise. 

‘Oak Gardens,’ Luche answered. ‘I’m actually looking at different apartments now, wanna help me pick one out?’ He offered hopefully, hoping that didn’t come off weird. 

‘I’ll be there in fifteen.’ Ada instantly agreed as she put her groceries on the conveyer belt to be checked out. 

She put the perishables into the cold bag and drove straight there and wasn’t surprised to see most of their friends already there picking out different apartments too. Pelna and Yasmine had gotten one and surprisingly Gladio and Pashmina had gotten the one next to that and Craig and Iris had gotten one across the street and even Ravus and Selena had gotten one since Selena had adopted one of Craig’s newfoundland puppies, Bunny since these were townhouse apartments that allowed pets for an extra charge a month and Luche had a hard time deciding if his apartment should be on the left or on the right of Ravus because he liked both, but they were different in their own ways and thankfully Ada was able to look at both and Luche went with the one she liked best which was to the right of Ravus because it had a nicer more easy set up and the color scheme she liked better as she realized, this townhouse was  **_way nicer_ ** than the house Cor had and she couldn’t help but feel jealous and wishing she could live here. It had brand new appliances and state of the art this and that and even Baxter liked the apartment really well which Luche took as a good sign. And even though it was a townhouse, it was huge, it had three big bedrooms, three bathrooms, a full kitchen, living room, dining area that was pretty open floor plan and even a basement that had washer, dryer hook ups and brand new appliances otherwise.  _ It was gorgeous. _

Ada decided to stay with them and go out to lunch with them and sat next to Luche and poured over the furniture websites at different furniture and helped him choose what furniture he wanted in each room and in each space using the dimensions she helped him gather of all the rooms in the apartment to make sure they would all fit good as well as picking out a great washer and dryer combo and the apartment complex was in it’s own community that had a pool and a playground and was really close to a nice shopping center and tons of restaurants. It was amazing. 

Ada got home in time to put her groceries away, grateful she didn’t get ice cream because it would have melted. But Cor came home pissed at her. 

“Why did you leave the house and why did you ignore my calls?!” Cor boomed when he came home as Baxter barked at him for raising his voice before Cor kicked Baxter outside so he couldn’t interfere. 

“Because I texted you instead.” Ada answered as she continued to cook dinner. “You knew exactly where I was and who I was with. I was  _ safe, _ I was  _ fine _ . Because I was  _ careful _ .” Ada argued as she paused and turned to face him, her arms crossed over her chest defensively. 

“You can’t be too careful Ada!” Cor growled angrily. 

“Oh my God, I was gone half the summer and was fine and now that I’m back you’re treating me like I’m a child like you can’t trust me to take care of myself! I’m an adult Cor!” Ada argued. 

“You don’t understand! It’s very dangerous right now, I’m just trying to protect you, when Gilgamesh is no longer a threat, I won’t care what you do, because I’ll know then that you’ll be fine but right now, it’s like there’s a bear loose in the neighborhood and all I’m asking is for you to stay in the goddamn house, why can’t you do that?! Why can’t you just listen to me?!” Cor demanded. 

“Because that bear wouldn’t be a threat if you didn’t keep poking it with a stick! Just shoot the damn thing and be done with it!” Ada snapped. 

“I’ve been trying to! It won’t get into my damn sights!” Cor growled in frustration. “And what’s the deal with you hanging out with Luche all day? According to Gladio, you never left his side.” Cor accused angrily. 

“Because he’s been my body guard all summer and is still on body guard duty and will be on body guard duty until you take Gilgamesh down, Sylva fucking  _ hired him _ to do that. Nothing happened between us all summer, it’s not like that’s going to change over night now that we’re back home. He’s a friend and he trusts my judgement and simply asked for my opinion on stuff, which is something I wish  _ you _ would do.” Ada defended before the two had a stare off before they both gave each other the silent treatment the rest of the night. 

The next day Ada went shopping with Luche again for things to decorate his apartment with as they filled two carts up with stuff since his furniture would be delivered the next day since he was already starting to move his stuff into the place, although he was mindful to leave plenty of room for her things as well since he hoped she’d be moving in sooner than later, but in the meantime he tried to include her in everything apartment wise because he wanted her to feel like she was at home at his place and part of that included having things in his apartment she liked and would use so now both of them were comparing dishes both online and in the stores before they found a set they both loved and adored and afterwords, Luche took her to a tea room for lunch. Ada hadn’t gotten high tea since she came to the states and while Luche’s didn’t love tea, he didn’t hate it either and was open to trying a few varieties before he found one he liked, it was a hibiscus and berry blend that they both liked but Ada’s favorite was still that Irish Breakfast blend. 

Ada was torn because for the second time, all over again, she was happiest when she was with Luche because he just  _ talked _ with her, valued her opinion and input and trusted her judgement on everything, like she was his equal in every way, if anything, like she was more precious than him and more important than him and she was once again the center of his world. God, she had missed that. She missed his sense of humor and his ability to make her forget that anything happening outside the bubble of his presence mattered or existed. She had missed his handsome face and his bright smile and how warm and friendly and at ease he was and how he had all the time in the world to spend on her and how he wasn’t in a rush at all and how every moment spent with her was precious to him. Why had she ever left him? Had Cor really been worth it? 

That night she came home and looked around at Cor’s house and realized how little of her was here. That day had been the best day of his career because he had just gotten done arresting Charlotte Stevens and had her in custody, but he couldn’t enjoy it because Ada had been with Luche all day again. The fight with Cor that night was more than she could take and she left with Baxter to take a walk to cool off. It was sunset and she was so angry with Cor she didn’t notice the car following her, and she didn’t notice until it was too late how Baxter seemed to freeze, every hair on his spine standing on end as he started growling and barking ferociously and she barely had a chance to scream before a bag was thrown over her head, she was picked up and she heard a gunshot and Baxter yelping in pain before she was hit over the head and became unconscious.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. Because I have had the next part ready for a long time and connecting the two parts has been torturous to me for some- only God knows why- reason. So I just gave up and slapped them together. BUT THE NEXT CHAPTER, OH HO HO. So much blood.


	9. "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor..."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Cor captures The Empress, Ada is captured in turn and held for ransom. Now everyone's loyalties get called into question, will this family come together or get torn apart by it's own hands?

****

Chapter 9

 

Meanwhile Cor heard the gunshot and came running out of the house and yelled for Ada at the top of his lungs before a neighbor yelled at him from the next street over, they had just been passing by their front window when they heard the gunshot, just in time to see Ada kidnapped by a black van as Baxter lay on the ground crying and whimpering and bleeding from getting shot. The neighbor’s wrapped Baxter in towels to try to stop the bleeding, they had already called 911 and Cor was already on the phone with Clarus. Within moments that felt like hours, Gladio and Clarus were there, only partially in uniform but already getting their gear on. 

“I have a vet on standby, get to the hospital!” Sylva ordered as she was getting changed out of her business suit into her own gear as she texted Hazel.

Meanwhile Hazel was in the middle of putting dinner away before her phone and Titus’ phone went off at the same time before their phones shut off. 

“Oh no, Titus, hide.” Hazel breathed as Titus was already getting the gun out of the hidden holster under the counter top before she pushed him into the bedroom in time to have Gilgamesh himself arrive at her door. 

“ _ You are needed Noble Consort WitchHazel. Your Empress needs you, I have been informed she was taken into custody only an hour ago by Warhorn Lion. You will get her out and get her to this address as fast as you can. How many henchmen will you need? _ ” He asked in Mandarin as he came into her apartment and she shut the door as he gave her slip of paper with an address written on it.

“ _ This is the last time I will be your Noble Consort and this is the last time I will serve my Emperor and Empress, I don’t need your henchmen, I have an army of my own because tonight, you will leave the country, Sylva Nox Fleuret will allow you to borrow her jet and take you and the Empress wherever you want to go and she will fly the chopper there herself, I will trade the Empress for Ada, do not harm her. _ ” Hazel demanded. 

“ _ I will trade you Ada for the Empress, after you free her. _ ” Gil bargained. 

“ _ Deal, _ ” Hazel agreed. 

“ _ For every hour you take, Ada will receive a strike. _ ” Gil put to her before he left and disappeared. 

Hazel ran for the bedroom and got her bags out of the hiding place. 

“What’s happened?” Titus asked as he got his combat boots on. 

“Cor arrested my sister and has her detained, in retaliation- Gil has Ada and I was able to barter her life for Charlie’s, for every hour I take, Ada will get a strike, aka get beaten. If I take more than three hours, Ada won’t survive the beatings he’ll give her.” Hazel answered as she got dressed in her WitchHazel gear before she threw a face mask at Titus and handed him a set of her gear which fit Titus as if it was custom made for him. 

“Come on, we got to get dressed and go to the hospital.” Hazel ordered. 

“The hospital?!” Titus asked in confusion. 

“Sylva knows, she’s helping me, I need to go there and get a plan together.” Hazel answered as she finished getting ready at about the same time Titus did. 

“I’ll drive.” Titus offered as he grabbed the keys to her SUV and drove to the hospital and once driving he reached over and held Hazel’s hand as she did her best to keep them from shaking. 

“Hazel, if we live through this, I’m marrying you.” Titus informed her which pulled Hazel from her dark thoughts as he kissed the back of her hand as he did his best not to shake either as he weaved through traffic to get there as fast as he could. 

“Ok,” Hazel agreed with a small she was afraid to show all the way. 

“And I’ll give you all the kids you want.” Titus added. 

“Deal.” Hazel nodded before they arrived at the hospital as Titus drove to the top level where Sylva’s car and entrance was while Sylva was already geared up herself as Regis was pleading with Clarus and Cor to come there and several minutes after Titus and Hazel came, Cor, Gladio and Clarus came as Yasmine, Pashmina, Stella and Luna came in to operate on Baxter using the mini operating room next to Sylva’s office. Nyx and Ravus were both sitting on the couch, waiting to get orders while Selena worked on making sure everyone had alibis and was covered legally. Pelna became acquainted with the tech Hazel brought in so he could be her set of electronic eyes as he gained access to the city’s systems while Tredd, Hazel and Sylva talked over how to break into the US Marshal’s office while Titus listened attentively. 

“What the fuck?!” Cor cursed when he saw everyone as Gladio frowned in confusion before he came over to Nyx and Rauvs and asked what was going on. 

“Cor! Come here now, if you want to save Ada, this is the only way we can do it and walk away with our lives.” Sylva ordered as Cor came over and looked at the plans of his office. 

“What the fuck is going on?” Cor demanded. 

“You arrested The Empress. Now Gilgamesh has Ada and is holding her hostage until The Empress is returned to him safely, every hour we take Ada will receive a beating, she won’t last three hours. Now, you need to give up every idea you have of ever catching Gilgamesh and keeping The Empress and they will never face justice. You knew Gil put his sights on Ada if you got too close. You knew that before we even left this summer.” Hazel challenged angrily as Cor stared at her in disbelief. There should have been no way she knew that much. Unless...

“Cor, meet WitchHazel.” Sylva announced as she gestured to Hazel as everyone’s eyes got wide with realization except for those who already knew. 

“The Empress is her sister Cor. It’s family. This is officially family business. Are you really going to sacrifice  _ all of us _ just to get him?” Titus asked as Cor blinked as everyone stared questioningly at him. 

“The only way all of us walk away from this with our lives is if we give Gilgamesh what he wants. And he wants The Empress so we are going to give her to him. It’s the only way, if you order a swat team, by the time they get ready and mobile she will already be dead.” Sylva argued. “So help us, help us get Ada back alive, and let’s just go on with our lives the best we can.” Sylva urged. “Or would you rather try to open fire and have that sniper on the building behind me a chance to kill you himself?” Sylva gestured to the wall of glass as Tredd simply stepped to the side so that Cor had a clear view of the windows lining the outside wall. 

“Fine.” Cor finally caved as he finally kicked into gear and they all stood over Sylva’s desk where the plans were as Cor and Clarus both orchestrated how they were going to do this from their side as Hazel figured out how she was going to get in, get Charlotte to the roof so that Sylva could pick them up and fly them to the airport. 

Within minutes they had a plan and put it into motion with Gladio, Nyx and Ravus being the drivers. They drove to the US Marshlal’s office and once there Tredd giddily help Hazel and Titus attach C4 to the back door while Pelna walked Nyx and Ravus through all the wiring to the building and on Hazel’s count Tredd aimed a granade launcher at the transformer while Gladio and Clarus kept watch at either end of the alley. 

“On my count, 3...2...1…” Hazel counted down as she armed the detonator. 

Meanwhile Charlotte simply sat at the interrogation table, idly cleaning out her nails that she had just gotten done when she had gotten ambushed and all of her bodyguards killed,  _ such a pitiable waste _ , she had gotten to like those particular body guards, oh well, her Emperor would replace them soon enough. She was also calmly ignoring the guy on the other side of her that was practically screaming at her to talk, how he had enough on her to get her the death penalty blah blah blah, she wasn’t really paying attention. She knew the guy with him was one of the moles as he casually leaned against the wall so she was in no real danger as she mentally wondered what was taking her sister so long to get to her and let the poor guy make a fool of himself before the mole got a text right before the back door exploded off, the lights went out and the mole shot the guy in the head. 

“My apologies Empress, WitchHazel has finally arrived.” He apologized as the emergency lights came on and he used the red flashing lights to unlock her handcuffs. 

“Took her long enough.” Charlotte huffed as he then led her out of the room to the hallway as Hazel, Titus and Cor came down the hallway as Charlotte started giggling to see it was Cor of all people with her sister. 

“ _ How’d you manage this? _ ” Charlotte asked in Mandarin.

“ _ A Miracle _ .” Hazel answered as she took her sister’s hand and made for a run for the stairs as Titus and Cor covered for them just as they could hear the helicopter come to the roof as Sylva landed it as Hazel and Charlotte came to the roof with Titus and Cor coming before they all came onboard and got the special headphones put on before Sylva flew them to the airport and landed next to her jet as Hazel had to put her gun to Cor’s head to make sure he didn’t try anything like trying to go after Gil now that he could see him as Gilgamesh simply smiled smugly as he offered his hand to Charlotte so she could board the plane with him and his generals before it took off and once they were in the air Hazel got a text, the address where Ada was being held before Sylva flew there and landed on the roof of the building, Clarus making sure the Sheriff’s office didn’t interfere at all as Gladio drove the boys back to the hospital to regroup. The building still had the last of the henchman leaving but Cor killed all of them and kicked their asses with such fury all he saw was red before Hazel, Titus and Cor both searched the building to find the rest of it empty except for Ada who had been tied to a chair, bloodied, bruised and a black bag over her head and was unconscious as Cor got to her first and cut her free before he took the bag off her head to see her mouth duct taped shut and her eyes swollen shut, she got beat to hell and she had only been gone for an hour and a half. 

“Cor.” Hazel breathed as she noticed all the blood coming from between Ada’s legs as she pointed it out to Cor and Titus who both gulped. 

“Come on, we need to get out of here.” Titus urged as Cor picked Ada up and in an adrenaline fueled burst of energy ran with her all the way back to the roof as he did his best to assure her she was ok as he loaded her onto the helicopter as Sylva flew them back to the hospital where her best team was waiting for them. Once the medical team was taking care of Ada, Sylva met back up with everyone in her office to go over alibis and to get the “official story” straight before everyone went their separate ways. 

Four hours later, Ada woke up in the hospital, her head hurt, hell her whole body hurt but more importantly, her belly hurt, oh yeah she had gotten kicked, repeatedly. She could feel the cuts to her lip and face. God she could feel the trauma start to burn itself into her memory. God that was so horrific.

_ She needed him _ ...Then her brain supplied her two pictures, one of Cor and the other of Luche and she immediately started to cry. 

“Love?” Cor asked when his head lifted from where it was resting next to her on the bed when he heard her weak cry and squeezed her hand that he had been holding with both of his and smiled in relief when she squeezed back.

“Am I in hospital?” Ada asked shakily as she fought to open her eyes, they were so swollen.

“Yeah, I’m so sorry Love, I didn’t think...I never wanted...they weren’t supposed to...” Cor tried to apologize but the words got garbled by his emotions and he couldn’t make himself finish the thought out loud because he wanted to say all of them at the same time.

Ada opened her eyes and saw how Cor looked how she felt, like shit, stitched up and bruised and starting to scab up already. His shirt was ripped and bloodied too. He hadn’t even changed since the fight.

“What time is it?” Ada asked, it felt like the middle of the night and that she needed to sleep for 12 more hours at least. Her throat was dry and felt like broken glass. 

“It’s 2 am, you’ve only been here for a few hours.” Cor assured her.

“You look awful Love,” Ada croaked as she reached out with her other hand that had an IV in it and tried to stroke his face with it while trying not to touch any of his new wounds.

“I’m fine,” Cor dismissed but leaned into her touch all the same. God he could have lost her, she could have died, she could have been seriously hurt. Well, more than she already was. 

“Why are my legs wet and sticky?” Ada asked as she felt a hot wet slick and sticky substance between her legs, did she get stabbed?

Cor sniffed and smelled blood, a lot of it. He pulled up the covers off her legs and realized she was sitting in a pool of blood, he had thought it was just a stab wound before but that was already fixed. 

“Nurse!” Cor yelled as he immediately got to his feet and bolted for the door as Ada found the call button on the remote and pressed the nurse button.

“Can I help you?” The nurse asked.

“Hi, I’m sitting in a pool of blood?” Ada tried not freak out, fuck that was A LOT of blood, like, she just had two periods at the same time kind of blood before Cor managed to grab a nurse and drag her into the room.

“Oh, that’s not good, get out!” She ordered Cor before pushing him out of the room. “Need a doctor in 9 STAT!” She bellowed before a doctor and two more nurses rushed into the room and pulled the blankets down as Ada carefully spread her legs, and when she did another waive of blood started to pour from her vagina, completely destroying her underwear.

“Oh my lord sweetie, were you pregnant?” The lead nurse asked as she realized and recognized what was happening.

“I...I didn’t think...” Ada stammered in shock.

“You’re having a miscarriage, I’m so sorry.” The doctor tried to delicately and gently inform her before he punched in new codes into the computer in the room.

“I’ll get some towels and we can start to get you cleaned up, we’re so sorry sweetie.” The lead nurse apologized as she touched and squeezed Ada’s arm comfortingly before the other nurse got into the cabinet and got all that there was and got a warm washcloth before helping Ada out of her bloody underwear as she started to cry and really understand what was happening before all the floodgates were opened and she started bawling her eyes out. The nurse was able to get her out of bed and into a special pair of underwear that they gave pregnant women after labor to catch all the blood before having her sit down in the chair Cor had taken up residence in as she continued to cry as she changed the bedding and put more pads down on before helping Ada get back into a clean and fresh bed and by this point Ada was near inconsolable.

“Can you, can you tell him?” Ada asked, not sure if she had the strength to tell Cor she just lost their baby that she had no idea she had been carrying in the first place.

“If you want me to, of course.” She readily agreed. “I’ll be right back with warm blankets ok?” She offered.

“Then let him back in.” Ada directed.

“Will do.” She nodded as she put the soiled linens in the appropriate bin before taking her gloves off and washing her hands before leaving the room while the other nurse got Ada fresh warm blankets. Cor looked ready to hurl from worry and grief.

“Can you tell me what’s going on? Please?” Cor begged.

“She’ll be ok, she’s having a miscarriage, you’ll need to go easy on her and be extra gentle with her ok? Did you know she was expecting?” She asked thoughtfully and Cor looked just as shocked as Ada had been as he put both hands over his mouth and shook his head no.

“Can I uh…?” Cor tried to ask as he gestured to the room, his head swimming and his heart breaking all over again and she gestured for him to go right on into the room and Cor practically ran into the room and sat on the bed and pulled Ada into his arms and cried with her as she bawled into his chest.

“Love I’m so sorry, I didn’t know!” Ada tried to apologize as Cor shook his head no.

“Listen to me Ada, this isn’t your fault, none of this, not a single fucking thing is your fault ok? It’s mine, it’s all mine, I was reckless and stupid and you’re paying the price for my stupidity. I’m so sorry Love, I’m so sorry.” Cor apologized as he cried into her shoulder as he held her in his arms and rocked her and just whispered how sorry he was to her over and over again and told her over and over again how much he loved her and how this was never going to happen again until Ada cried herself to sleep until they were moved to an actual hospital room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, this was both hard yet fun to write because I've been amping up to this FOR MONTHS. Hell this has been in the works while I was still writing M and M. I talked with The-Immortal-Marshal since Ada is her OC and we worked out that the baby (which was still well before the 12 week mark) wouldn't make it, the dog would. Baxter LIVES. Also Sylva is the BAMF ya'll. I adore her. Ah the chaotic good alignment.


	10. The Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fall out as everyone comes up to speed and reacts to what happened the night before as well as trying to stay faithful to their alibis which is harder than they thought it would be.

Chapter 10

 

Sylva didn’t have Ada moved to just any hospital room, but had her moved to the VIP rooms of the hospital that were on the upper floors that had the best views, the ones that looked like hotel suites that had every comfort imaginable along with an actual bed for Cor to sleep in too with actual super plush bedding, with super comfortable mattresses and the meals would be gourmet and had their own kitchen down the hall along with a mini kitchenette in the room and even the hospital gowns were beautiful and made from super soft peached cotton and were just as comfortable as any nightgown. Also the toiletries were designer and name brand and had things beyond the shampoo, conditioner and soap, but really good day and night face moisturizers and lotions and toothbrushes and toothpaste, mouthwash and body wash, even body scrubs, hair dryers, brushes, hair ties and the like. Even the waiting rooms on this floor were spectacular with it’s own private baristas in their little coffee nook and a free snack bar along with high end oriental teas in silk triangle tea bags. And Ada had two dedicated nurses who would not be waiting on any other patient other than her during their shifts. 

The next morning Ravus came into work and saw Clarus walking in with Gladio, both of them in uniform and both looking particularly rough, like neither of them had gotten any sleep which was the same boat he and everyone else found themselves in last night. Well, except for Tredd, Tredd had been in his element yesterday. Asshole, but he was the perfect guy for the job yesterday. 

“What’s the status?” Ravus asked curiously. 

“Um,” Gladio said before he came over and bent over to talk with Ravus face to face.

“Ada is um...she’s having a miscarriage.” Gladio informed Ravus who’s eyes went wide.

“Oh my God.” Ravus breathed in shock. “Uh, let me park, and I’ll meet you in there,” Ravus offered before he parked in his spot two levels above and took the elevator down to the floor Ada was staying on, which was coincidentally the same floor he and Lunafreya had been born on, just a few rooms down actually and they found Crowe and Libertus already there since Ada had called Crowe first thing that morning and Crowe and Libertus had booked it coming in to see her.  

“What are you doing here Beavus?” Crowe tried to act casual but it was no use before Ravus just enveloped her in a hug and hugged her tight and let her cry into his chest, not caring in the least if it messed up his suit up or not.

“I work here remember? How is she holding up?” Ravus asked and Crowe shook her head no.

“She’s not. God I want to hit Cor so bad right now.” Crowe admitted. “He promised me he would protect her and keep her out of his work.” Crowe cried.

“He underestimated his ‘work’.” Ravus replied sadly as tears pricked his own eyes. 

“He swore to me that he would keep her out of harm’s way!” Crowe bawled before Cor came out of the room to talk with Clarus as Libertus tugged on Crowe’s shirt to get her attention.

“You asshole!” Crowe yelled once she pulled away from Ravus and charged Cor before Ravus and Libertus had to hold her back.

“You swore to me you’d keep her safe! You promised me you were going to protect her with your life! Instead she almost lost hers and she just miscarried you bastard!” Crowe screamed as Ravus and Libertus both had to fight to keep her from all out wailing on Cor, picking her up off the floor from behind and still having to deal with her trying to kick at him being mindful of her own pregnant belly. 

“I know! I’m sorry! I did all I could! Believe me! You think I want her here? Do you think I ever wanted this?! I never wanted her to get involved, I never wanted her anywhere near this, it got personal and I’m sorry! I swear I’ll get the bastard!” Cor roared back with Clarus keeping a steady hand on his chest as angry tears escaped them both.

“Lower your voices,” Clarus warned.

“Where is he?!” Luche roared as he rounded the corner.

“Oh fucking hell.” Ravus groaned and looked to Crowe and Libertus to see which one of them contacted Luche and they both looked away guiltily before Ravus let go of Crowe so Libertus could hold her back on his own to get between Luche and Cor.

“Slow down, slow down,” Ravus warned Luche still a good 20 feet from Cor who was already in fight mode as was Luche and Ravus got Luche to stop and put both of his hands on Luche’s chest and used his own body weight to keep Luche from advancing any further.

“You motherfucker!” Luche accused Cor angrily as he could only point as he looked past Ravus at Cor who looked back angrily and had his fists balled up at his sides as his own rage seethed. Oh he was .2 seconds away from really handing this jackass his own ass. “This is all your fault!” Luche roared angrily.

“Lu?!” Ada called out when she recognized Luche’s voice. Fuck she wanted to see him. She had wanted to see him since last night. And at sound of Ada’s voice it prompted a complete change in Luche and he started pushing past Ravus with all his might. 

“I’m here!” Luche called back before he realized no matter how much he wanted to hand Cor his ass, he wanted to see Ada more.

“Whoa, whoa,” Cor said as he tried to get in the door to keep Luche from getting to Ada.

“Cor let me see him! Let him in!” Ada cried and Cor turned to look at her in outrage. She is going through a miscarriage of  _ their baby _ and she wanted to see  _ him _ of all people?!

Luche grinned victoriously and still bumped Cor’s shoulder hard when Luche moved past him in lieu of actually hitting Cor. Then the smile fell and he came and threw all propriety out the window when he sat next to her on the bed and gathered her into his arms and hugged her tight and felt some relief when she hugged him back just as tight as Crowe, Libertus and Ravus took up the door frame to look in before Ada looked up and shooed them away before Crowe took the hint and shut the door to give them some privacy as the three of them stood guard at the door to keep Cor from going in. 

“I’m so sorry Baby,” Luche finally offered as he started to cry too as Ada had a new wave of tears stream down her face as she cried into him and felt better and worse at the same time when she felt the kind of comfort she had been craving having him hold her again.

“You’ll have to forgive Crowe and Libertus, they both texted me the news and I couldn’t...I couldn’t stay away.” Luche explained.

“I’m glad you’re here, thanks Lu.” Ada said and smiled despite everything. God he smelled so good too, another new cologne but still...so Luche. God she had missed him so much and she had only seen him the day before but with everything that happened, that felt like forever ago. 

Luche could smell the blood on her and it made him sick to his stomach. God he would have given anything to never have her go through something like this. God he wanted to ask a million questions but he also doubted she would be up to answering any of them. So he did the sensible thing and kept his mouth shut but stayed holding her as tight as he dared, he forgot how good it felt to simply hold her. God he had missed her so much. He wanted to tell her everything but knew it wasn’t the right time for that either. This was about her, not him. And right now, she was hurting, in every way and he needed to try to make this better and bearable for her.

“Is there anything I can do Baby?” Luche asked, taking a risk calling her that, but she technically started it by calling him ‘Lu’.

“Please don’t fight Cor. He did all he could, he really did. He saved my life.” Ada pleaded and Luche swallowed down his angry argument that if it hadn’t been for Cor, her life wouldn’t have been in need of saving to begin with.

“Please?” Ada added and Luche knew that if he was going to show her how much he had grown up, this was how he could start and Ada felt all the tension begin to leave him and Luche finally caved.

“Fine, but if he starts shit, I’m gonna finish it.” Luche warned.

“Ok, that’s fair.” Ada agreed. “Just, keep holding me,” Ada requested as she realized she really didn’t want him to let her go so Luche did just as she asked and held her as tight as he dared and smiled sadly when he felt her completely relax again. And even a little bit longer than that, she nodded off to sleep and part of his heart leaped for joy that he could still get her to do that, and that she still felt comfortable enough with him to fall asleep in his arms, he remembered the first time that ever happened to him and it made him feel...so amazing that she was comfortable enough to fall asleep in his embrace, she still felt that way obviously. He kissed her temple sweetly, letting his lips linger on her skin for just a moment, savoring it before he started to let go of her and have her lay down in bed to get more rest. She needed it. He wanted to stay with her, have her fall asleep and wake up to him too but his common sense said that he was probably already overstepping his bounds enough, he didn’t need to push it. Well, anymore than he already had been.

He tucked her in and made sure she was perfectly comfortable before kissing her forehead and cheek again, mindful of her injuries. Just needing to get the last of that in until...he didn’t know if he would ever get the chance to ever do that again.

“I love you so much Ada.” Luche whispered as he gently pressed his forehead to hers before he pulled away and wiped his eyes and tried to force his emotions back under control before he left the room and saw his friends leaning on either side of the door when he left. Clarus and Cor thankfully nowhere in sight but Gladio was still sitting in the chair next to door. 

“She’s asleep.” Luche informed them when they all looked at him questioningly.

“Ok, come on, let’s go to my office.” Ravus invited to everyone. 

“I’ll stay here with her, you guys go,” Crowe suggested to Luche and Libertus before she went back into the room to sit with Ada.

“I told my dad I’d stay here and keep watch.” Gladio excused them before Ravus, Luche and Libertus nodded in agreement with that before they left, Ravus turning around to mouth and gesture to text him to which Gladio nodded solemnly in agreement before they walked back to the elevators before going up to the level where Ravus’ office was. Ravus walked past his mother’s office and saw her working before he got his friends into his office before he went back to his mother.

“Luche found out, Crowe and Libertus told him this morning.” Ravus reported. 

“And how did that go?” Sylva asked as she continued to do all she could for Ada within her system. 

“Well they didn’t kill each other or kick each other’s asses thanks to us holding them back.” Ravus shrugged as Sylva hummed in response as a look of resignation crossed her face. 

“She’s going to need therapy, miscarriage alone can wreak havoc on your psyche but being taken captive, and getting beaten, I can only imagine the trauma she must be experiencing. Luche will need you today.” Sylva insisted as Ravus nodded in understanding as she upgraded Ravus and Luche’s status within the system. 

“There, you and Luche both have your God Codes.” Sylva informed her son as he walked around pulled up a chair and saw for himself that she had Ravus copy and then showed him how to bring them up and how to arrange things and the different programs available to make sure everything would be taken care of as well as showed Ravus how Ada already had VIP status so that the nurses and doctors would take extra good care of her and how there were already two dedicated nurses on Ada that did nothing but cater to her for their shifts and showed the rest of the teams of nurses Sylva put onto Ada so that she had round the clock care and make sure all medicines, especially pain medicines would be approved and covered not only by insurance but by the hospital as well, and arranged for visits from the staff psychologists and psychiatrists and made sure various programs would cover all the therapy and made sure to send notes to mention that it would be covered and that there would be no out of pocket expense for Cor or Ada.

“There, I think this is all we can do on our end. Hopefully she’ll take us up on the offer for the therapy at least.” Sylva blew out a breath once she finished.

“Thank you Mom,” Ravus thanked her and hugged her from his spot next to her.

“How is Luche doing?” Sylva asked. 

“He...took it better than I thought he would. The moment he heard Ada’s voice he went from fight mode to comfort mode in less than a blink of an eye.” Ravus answered with half cocked grin. “Actually, could you uh, could you tell him or can I tell him what we just did, I know he’ll worry.” Ravus requested thoughtfully.

“Absolutely, just remember Cor is hurting just as much as Ada is, he lost his baby last night too. Both of you should take the day or next couple of days off if you want or need to, and if he needs an outlet you can take him to our house. I’ll understand if he’ll want to drink himself into a stupor, nearly losing a woman you love is difficult, also if he needs support and or therapy, we’ll be there for him and provide that too.” Sylva invited warmly.

“How long have you known? About Hazel being Witchhazel? About Gil taking Ada, you reacted as if you had been expecting this all along, you had the blueprints to the sheriff’s office and the US Marshal’s office in your desk and you knew exactly how to break both strongholds. How did you know all that was going to happen or more importantly- how  _ long _ did you know all of that?” Ravus asked. 

“Do you swear on Selena’s life that you will never repeat this to anyone? Not even Selena and especially not to Luche?” Sylva put to him. 

“I swear.” Ravus vowed. 

“Since the beginning of summer, when Cor got close to Gil and Gil sent a message to Cor, Hazel had to deliver it, she came to me for help right after and that’s when I knew what would happen, pieces fell into place like dominoes and I knew what was going to come and all the probable outcomes bloomed in front of my eyes and I knew I had to come up with a contingency plan to save everyone’s lives. Tredd suspected Ada was pregnant on the first day of the first cruise and came to me, one look at her and I knew but I swore him to secrecy and if and when we get asked, I will only admit that Tredd had a hunch but I couldn’t be sure so I played it safe in making sure Luche and Ada wouldn’t have sex at all just in case and I’ll leave it at that, but it was so that there would be no question as to who’s baby was lost last night, that’s why I hired Tredd to be a cock block on the cruises because as much as Luche is hurting right now, I knew he would break completely if he had any doubt at all that it wasn’t _his baby_ that died last night too, that’s why I had to protect him the way I did and with as emotional as he is, that’s why I kept Crowe, Libertus and Luche in the dark because I couldn’t trust any of them to keep their heads through all of this and they would emotionally react and fuck everything up although after this experience, they’ll be much more level headed and I’ll be able to trust them with much more. I also knew Cor wouldn’t stop unless he was **_made_** **_to stop_** and I did what I did to keep Hazel and Titus from fighting against Cor and Clarus and the entire police force and Marshal service because Hazel knows there are moles in both, and those moles will the be the ones to make sure we all get away with this and the investigation on what happened last night- never leads to us, that was the deal I made with Gilgamesh myself shortly after he took Ada.” Sylva revealed. 

“ _ You _ made a deal with Gilgamesh?!” Ravus balked. 

“Sweetie,  _ I had to _ , otherwise Ada would have died, hell  _ all of us _ would have been killed because all of us would have been caught in the crossfire, I owed him because it was his order to kill Ardyn and Andrew Izunia and it was Charlotte who killed them both so I let them borrow my plane to get them a clean getaway and my pilots deleted all the flight data so now there is no record of Gilgamesh ever using my plane and I deleted all the flight data in the chopper so now there’s no trails to anything and Selena along with the girls were very creative in making sure our alibis stick and are water tight if they’re ever needed and we’re all lawyered up. So now all of this is over for everyone except Cor and Ada and Luche of course, now that Gilgamesh is out of the country, we’re all going to try to go on with our lives and live in peace. I couldn’t have this family tear itself apart like that. That’s why I had to play both sides and got my hands as dirty as they are, all of us walked away with our lives despite our loyalties clashing. Granted we had to go about it outside of the law but we’ll be ok. However I can tell you that Cor, in his quest for vengeance and revenge will completely abandon Ada and that’s how Luche will get her back. They’ll be back together before Crowe and Libertus get married in a month and chances are she’ll be pregnant not long after that and their own wedding will be right before Crowe and Libertus leave and will already start to show by then.” Sylva predicted. “And I know you’re mad at me for not telling you all this sooner but I had to be sure you wouldn’t blow it either.” Sylva urged as Ravus nodded in understanding. 

“You’re going to have to teach me your ways Mother.” Ravus gently teased which caused Sylva to huff a laugh. 

“Oh I will, Tredd is already chomping at the bit to be taught too and I wouldn’t have gotten half as far without him and I know you think he’s an asshole but his loyalties are to us and this family because this family is his family now and you don’t have to worry about him ever turning on us, he’s practically another brother to you and another son to me because I see his potential and I'm nurturing it rather than dismissing it like everyone else does and he’ll be fine and hopefully neither of you will have to use these skills.” Sylva offered before Ravus grabbed his notes and went back into his office with his mom where Luche had grabbed the bottle of brandy and was all out chugging it.

“Ok, hey, before you get shit faced, I need to tell you something and I need you to pay attention.” Sylva urged as she got the bottle out of Luche’s hand and handed it to Ravus to put away before she held Luche's face in her hands. 

“Luche, listen to me, it’s going to be ok. I know you’re hurting. But please keep in mind what’s important, and what’s important is Ada. This is the card to a cane corso breeder, they have two dogs for you that have been going through all kinds of training all summer. A  _ cane corso _ is if Ferrari and Lamborghini designed a guard dog, they’re amazing and you’ll love them. Write them a check from this checkbook. I know you’ll want to crap a brick when you hear how much these dogs are but again, these have been trained to protect Ada with their lives just like Baxter, who’s ok by the way, he’s with Luna right now. The girls were able to save him. Also, you need to give Cor some slack.” 

“But he…!” Luche tried to argue before Sylva silenced him with a finger to his lips before she held his face again. 

“I know, I know, he put her life in danger, he put all of our lives in danger all summer but Honey, he’s paying for it  _ right now _ , he lost his baby last night, he almost lost the love of his life too just like you did. But you are going to do what Cor can’t. Cor’s going to lose himself in vengeance and You. Will. Not. Do. That. Your entire focus will be on Ada and her recovery and making sure she never feels alone or abandoned again. I will have a bag of books for you to start reading today, you’ll read them, study them and use the knowledge you find in them.  _ You will be Ada’s rock _ and I promise you, she’ll be with you before the wedding. Don’t worry about getting justice for Ada because you never will but what you  _ can do _ is get her safe, get her secure and keep her that way the rest of her life. Your job in life is taking care of her. Do your job. But you can’t do that if you’re shit faced.” Sylva urged before she explained the God Code and gave him his and showed him on Ravus’ computer how she was already taking care of things and how Luche could keep track of everything in his own computer as Luche visibly relaxed and calmed down. 

“Oh thank God! I was about to go crawling into her office to beg for that.” Luche admitted once he saw everything.

“Well no need, it’s all taken care of.” Ravus reassured him before Luche got up again and walked to Sylva’s office with her as he thanked her for everything as she got the books together for him to read from her own bookshelf in her office.   

“You’re welcome, and Luche, may I suggest you should get some therapy too in dealing with this. It’s ok for you to get some comfort and support in all this too.” Sylva gently suggested as she hugged him just as tightly, kicking into ‘mom mode’ herself.

“I was about to come in here on my hands and knees and beg for your help.” Luche admitted and Sylva snorted a laugh.

“Sorry, that’s not funny, but clearly, no need but that’s a wonderful and moving thought.” Sylva grinned proudly. “Although if you had, I would have done just as much to help her as I’ve already done and believe me, I have done all I can do. Now, may I suggest, just take the rest of the day off, take the next few days off, you can stay here and hang out in Ravus’ office if you want or you can come to my home and crash there too but what I would suggest is you see Ada one more time then you go get the dogs and bring them home and get things ready for Ada to move in with you sooner than later, take Ravus with you to get the dogs ok? You’re not alone, we’re all here for you. And give yourself time to process this, give Ada and Cor time to process this too. I know we all have our misgivings about the situation, as horrible as it is. But it’s important to look at the big picture and look outside our own personal pain ok? I know you don’t want to hear that but you need to hear it ok?” Sylva admonished gently, keeping her tone gentle and soft but still firm.

“Ok, thanks Mom.” Luche thanked her.

“You’re welcome Sweetheart, now, I got work to do, just take it easy ok?” Sylva said as she finally let go of him and Luche nodded in agreement and sniffled still before Sylva handed him a tissue.

“It’ll be ok, she’ll be taken care of to the best of our ability, I promise Sweetheart.” Sylva reminded him before he nodded again and left and rejoined Ravus and Libertus in Ravus’ office.

Meanwhile when Luche, Ravus and Libertus left Gladio shot a text to Cor.

‘Knucklehead left, said she fell asleep, Crowe’s with her in the room now and Crowe confirmed she’s out. Beavus, Knucklehead and Lib left, Crowe is still here tho.' Gladio texted Cor. Even though Gladio felt Cor was the one who was the knucklehead. Gladio had spent most of his life idolizing Cor and now that all this had gone down and watching the way Luche had behaved all summer, he felt Ada should have never left Luche, she was better off with him and he couldn’t fault her for wanting Luche and even he could see that Cor was losing her because Cor had blown it. Cor knew better, when Cor admitted he had known  _ for months _ that Gil had his sights on Ada, he was ready to kick Cor’s ass. He was so grateful that Sylva had seen all this ahead of time and had a plan and was able to get everyone to work together on their own side rather than against each other, he was grateful Regis did too. The way it worked out was the best case scenario. Hopefully it would be the one time in his career that he’d be dirty but it was for Ada. He knew that if it had been Pashmina, he would have gone full Punisher and tried to burn the city to the ground. But fuck all if he and Pashmina hadn’t gotten the best sex ever last night when they got home from the hospital, why he personally didn’t get more than a couple of hours of sleep last night. He was so proud of her for pushing through her squeamishness with blood and working on Baxter and working on alibis with Selena when she was done, hell all of the girls had worked on alibis. She was a bad bitch in the best way. He loved her so so so much. Hell even Yasmine had been awesome, helping Pelna with all the computer systems and making sure all the cameras were shut off so that none of it got recorded while also manning a special drone to keep an eye on things at the same time. They worked together as a great team too. He was happy they were together. Even Nyx and Luna were great and Stella and Tredd were in their damn elements last night. Tredd was a damn natural and took to this like a fish to water. He was so surprised Hazel was WitchHazel. But he was so grateful he didn’t have to face off against her. He was super impressed Coach was as amazing as he was and he understood that Coach would be loyal to Hazel and he could only hope and pray they stayed together because they were all one big family and this family handled it’s business last night and this family took care of itself. He was so proud to be in this family and at the center was the biggest badass of them all, Sylva, she was the glue holding everything together and he wanted to kiss her when she revealed how she actually had plans in place just in case any of this shit had ever happened to any of them, she was the epitome of Mama Bear and she took care of her cubs and was ready and willing to do whatever it took to protect them. Heaven forbid anything ever happen to her because they were all screwed otherwise. 

‘We’ll be right there, got to grab some coffee, text me any changes.’ Cor answered, having been on and off staring at his phone since Clarus suggested they go get some coffee from the cafe down the hallway to distract Cor from barging into the room and making a fool of himself.

“God I wanna punt that asshole to the moon.” Cor growled as they stood in line to get some coffee as Cor looked at the tea selection and tried to think of what Ada would like to drink as Clarus just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Clarus was a patient man but Cor was reaching even his limits. 

“But you did the right thing by not doing that, you know Ada. She wouldn’t want you fighting, not when she’s going through so much already.” Clarus reminded him and Cor just grumbled his curses under his breath and crossed his arms over his chest and squeezed his phone tight to make sure he didn’t miss any vibrating from getting messages.

“Hi, can I get two of the largest coffees you have with four shots of espresso each, chocolate syrup and caramel syrup in both.” Clarus ordered first from the Barista who happily took the order down.

“Name?” She asked.

“Clarus on the first and Gladio on the second.” Clarus answered.

“Ok,” She nodded as she wrote down his name on the cup and handed the cups over to the next barista at her station. 

“How much will that be?” Clarus asked. 

“Oh it’s free, if you’re seeing a patient on this floor, as their guests your refreshments are free, all I need is the room number.” She replied. 

“Oh it’s 8245.” Clarus offered before she nodded and punched that into the system as he still put a fiver into the tip jar. 

“And what can I get for you?” She asked Cor sweetly. 

“The largest coffee you have and probably eight shots of espresso and I can add my own cream and sugar right?” Cor asked and she nodded. “And can I get one of...can you just get me two cups of hot water and then one or two packets of every kind of tea you have?” Cor asked.

“Absolutely,” She immediately agreed. “Name?” She requested.

“Cor.” Cor answered and she wrote that down too and passed the cup over. 

“Room number?” She asked.

“Same number, 8245.” He answered as she punched that in. “Leonis? Cor Leonis?” She asked once she saw the name under the room number listed as the caretaker.

“Yup.” Cor nodded. 

“You’re listed as the caretaker for the patient in 8245 so if you need anything at all, you can call room service and all your meals and snacks will be provided for you free of charge and of course anything we can provide for you here too.” She informed him sweetly. 

“Thank you,” Cor nodded in understanding as he gave he a polite smile before she got to work getting his things together. 

“Can I get that chocolate muffin?” Cor added as he looked at the display of pastires and snacks in the case again and realized he hadn’t eaten anything since last night and wanted to inhale it on the spot.

“Of course, anything else catching your eye this morning?” She asked as got him his chocolate – chocolate chip muffin which was practically a cupcake without frosting and put it into the bag for him before he shook his head no and she simply nodded in understanding before she handed it over to him before he walked over to Clarus at the end of the bar where there were condiments while they were waiting for their coffees to be made, Cor not waiting anymore before taking the muffin out of the bag and started to eat it, not caring that he was taking almost inhumanly large bites because it was a big muffin. His cheeks expanded as far as they could and he took some comfort in the delicious taste and not noticing or caring that he was getting chocolate crumbs  _ everywhere _ . Clarus gave him a wary if not a bit amused look and went ahead and got Cor a couple of napkins and just handed them to him.

“You have a little something, well, everywhere,” Clarus muttered as he gestured to all of Cor’s face and chest. Cor just shrugged and continued chewing as it gave him a break from thinking and helped him process more. God he wanted to kick Luche’s ass, he wanted to kick Gilgamesh’s ass, hell he wanted Gilgamesh DEAD. He wanted to dismantle his empire brick by brick and beat Gilgamesh to death with those damned bricks, then maybe, if he had time and energy, go after Luche. Who did that asshole think he was? Just marched all up in there and rushed to Ada’s side like he was the most important person in the world? Asshole. How did Ada want him?! How did  _ his Ada _ want her ex at a time like that? She should have been furious with Crowe and Libertus for telling him, he had no right and no business knowing their business like that. He wondered how pissed Ada would be if he did actually kick Luche’s ass? She’d get over it eventually, right? God he needed to make this right, he needed to FIX THIS. He needed JUSTICE, he couldn’t believe he had knocked her up either, he was going to be a dad...as terrified as that thought made him feel, he would have given anything to just redo the last 24 hours. Go back in time, he wished he had taken Ada out of town, hell, put her on a plane and sent her away to go visit her parents, out of harm’s way the moment she had gotten back. And his heart tormented him with guilt when his brain supplied him with the what if scenario of Ada figuring out she was expecting and surprising him with the news. How happy they would have been, how he would have properly proposed to her and married her. Keep her home, keep her safe. He would have given anything for that future...

“Mr. Leonis.” The second barista called out when his coffee was done along with his cups of hot water for tea that had all been put into a drink carrier, all the teabags put into an empty cup.

He put the rest of his half eaten muffin back in the bag and grabbed the carrier before joining Clarus at the condiment counter and put cream and sugar into his coffee as Clarus put creamer into his and Gladio’s coffees before passing the creamer to Cor to put in his own coffee before they went back to the room.

“Is she awake yet?” Cor asked Gladio who nodded but licked his lips when he saw his dad carrying coffee with his name on it and reached out for it and took it from his dad before drinking it gratefully.

“Yeah, she ordered breakfast and it came like 5 minutes later, service is insanely good up here.” Gladio informed him and Cor blew out a breath of relief, good she was eating. 

“Good, go to the counter down there and get some breakfast too.” Clarus urged before Gladio nodded and obeyed his father’s direction. 

Cor knocked softly before coming into the room to see Ada and Crowe talking quietly as Ada picked at her food a little while Crowe downed her own meal that had brought with Ada’s meal.

“I got you some tea Love, I got all the different kinds they had.” Cor informed Ada before setting the cups on the table.

“Were you hungry Love? When I called to order breakfast they asked for my order and asked for my ‘caregiver’s order’ and any guest meals as well.” Ada explained as she sifted through the different tea flavors and making a face when they didn’t have any she really liked, so she settled for the black pearl tea. 

“So I’m eating the guest meal just so you know.” Crowe informed Cor through her own bulging cheeks, she was after all eating for two. Which only made this loss more poignant. Crowe and Ada would have been expecting babies at the same time.

“I got a muffin at the snack bar down the hallway, I’m good.” Cor waived off as he sat down and put his half eaten muffin and coffee on the other bedside table.

“You doing ok?” Cor asked Ada curiously, just itching to ask her about what happened between her and Luche. God it was like pouring salt in an open wound. And the way Crowe was looking at him with subtle aggression was only frying his nerves worse.

Ada waited until Crowe finished eating before asking for some privacy with Cor who she could see Cor barely able to maintain his composure.

“Yeah I gotta go find Lib anyway, see what shenanigans he’s up to.” Crowe excused herself and got up to leave before there was another knock on the door and Cor just wanted to scream. He just wanted to be alone with Ada for two god damn fucking minutes before Crowe left and three doctors and a nurse came in.

“Hi Miss Ardens, I’m Dr. Gentiana, a psychiatrist here at Miracles, how are you feeling today?” Gentiana asked warmly as she came in and shook Ada’s hand before shaking Cor’s before the others introduced themselves as well. Dr. Ramuh and Dr. Shiva.

“And please be honest with your answer.” Gentiana clarified when Ada took a deep breath and hesitated in answering.

“I feel like shit, I hurt all over and in every way.” Ada answered as her shoulders sagged.

“From the notes in your file I can completely understand that and you have every right to feel that way and you shouldn’t be afraid to admit it.” Dr. Gentiana gently assured her.

“Thanks,” Ada offered a small smile, enjoying the validation.

“Well the reason my associates and I are here is we understand you’ve gone through some really traumatic experiences recently and I would like to ask if you were comfortable sharing those or did you need or want more time to process everything? Because you need and should be taken care of not just physically but as a whole, especially psychologically.” Gentiana specified kindly.

“Well...” Ada began before her eyes flooded with hot painful tears again as she grabbed the tissues then poured out everything that had happened as the doctors took notes and offered commendation and encouragement as Cor scooted closer and grabbed her hand and cried too as he wallowed in his guilt and remorse and really liked it that Dr. Gentiana engaged them both and listened attentively to him and Ada since Dr. Gentiana had been his phsychiatrist for a few years now. 

An hour later when Ada had finished pouring her heavy heart again, but this time she felt a bit lighter about it and a tiny bit more at peace about it too.

“Well you’ve done an excellent job being open and honest with us and I applaud your strength, both of your strengths, this isn’t easy stuff to talk about and both of you did a really good job. And thank you for trusting us with this information and trusting us with your feelings. Now you’re being offered to be in a couple of different aftercare programs where our services will be free of charge to both of you and I highly recommend taking full advantage of the opportunity. Here’s my card, are you comfortable with us coming again tomorrow? Or even later today?” Dr. Gentiana invited as she put her card on Ada’s table and slid it to her before handing Cor her business card again as well before her associates did the same.

Ada nodded yes and Cor found himself nodding along too.

Meanwhile back in Ravus’ office, Ravus and Libertus listened patiently as Luche poured his own heart out after Libertus had given Luche the full story and all the nitty gritty details from Ada’s point of view as Ravus was surprisingly very, very quiet about everything else and Luche had wanted to punch something and settled for punching Ravus throw pillows he kept on the couch in his office and screaming into them before all out breaking down crying while Ravus sat on one side while Libertus sat on the other, both of them putting their arms around Luche’s shoulders and consoling him.

“Why didn’t I fight harder for her? Why did I ever let her go? None of this would have happened if I hadn’t let her go.” Luche sobbed as the three of them emptied the tissue box Ravus kept on the coffee table in his office.

“And why was she ok starting a family with him and not with me?” Luche asked rhetorically and Ravus and Libertus could only shrug.

“God Crowe and her would have been pregnant at the same time! They would have had a double baby shower, Ada would have been such a good mom.” Luche sobbed.

“She would be, she still can be.” Ravus tried to comfort. “And maybe this will open her eyes and make her see that she isn’t better off with him, there’s still hope.” Ravus tried to console.

“You’re right.” Luche realized. “It felt so fucking good to hold her again. I can’t, I can’t give up now. I gotta get her back. I don’t know how, but I gotta, maybe if I can show her and prove to her that I’ve changed, that she’s better off with me, she’d be a hell of a lot safer with me, that the most dangerous thing around her would be kitchen knives. I can take care of her now. I can take care of her better than he can.” Luche professed and Ravus grinned mischievously when he got an idea.

“Well, what helped me win Selena was small, but powerful and thoughtful gifts and gestures. She’s British, British love tea, what’s her favorite kind of tea?” Ravus asked thoughtfully.

“Irish Breakfast.” Luche answered and Ravus’ grin grew.

“Yeah I doubt Miracles stocks that, come on, go into my bathroom, get cleaned up, we’re going tea shopping.” Ravus suggested before Luche did as he was told and went into his bathroom.

“Text Crowe, we’ll need the best friend scoop.” Ravus directed Libertus who agreed and texted Crowe only moments before she came into the room herself.

“Nice office Beavus, where’s Luche?” Crowe asked.

“In the bathroom getting cleaned up. I would like to ask the biggest of all favors.” Ravus began and walked towards Crowe bravely.

“And that is?” Crowe asked as she crossed her arms and popped her hip.

“Luche wants to get back with Ada and we would like to ask for your help. Seeing as how Ada would be much... _ safer _ with him. Do you think there’s a chance she might want him too?” Ravus asked carefully and his heart soared when Crowe’s grin grew mischievous.

“So let’s say I agree with you and I may be in the possession of the knowledge that Luche has a pretty big chance since I agree with you that she’s better off coming back to him and would be happier with him too, what would this ‘favor’ entail?” Crowe asked. 

“Doing exactly what you just did by telling us that and perhaps answer some questions like what’s her favorite...anything and everything?” Ravus returned with an equally mischievous, scheming smile.

“Please Crowe?” Luche asked once he reappeared from the bathroom, still looking like he had cried his eyes out but was at least a little bit better put together.

“Hell fucking yeah I’m in,” Crowe agreed before going and hugging Luche.

“You did so good Luche, so so good, you were perfect with her, you didn’t barrage her with any questions or make her feel guilty or anything, you just provided comfort by just holding her and that’s all she wanted and needed from you.” Crowe revealed as Luche breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her back tightly.

“Now come on, I have a feeling we’re about to make a shopping trip.” Crowe invited with a gleam in her eye. “Beavus, you drive, you have the biggest and nicest car.” Crowe commanded and Ravus chuckled and grabbed his car keys.

Ada had given Crowe permission to tell only their closest friends that she was in the hospital as Selena, Luna and Nyx came, Baxter and flowers in tow since their alibi was that Sylva had called them in to take care of Baxter as did Pashmina, Yasmine and Stella and Ada was so, so happy Baxter was alive and relatively well. So Luche when he, Ravus, Libertus and Crowe returned with goodies and flowers galore were able to blend in with the rest of them. But Cor however kept a suspicious eye on them all, even though he did appreciate their condolences. 

“I got you a few things.” Luche muttered as he handed her a tin of her absolute favorite tea. A beautiful turquoise tin from Fortnum and Mason, Irish Breakfast flavor complete with a special tea ball and spoon and a proper set of tea cups and a small teapot and matching set of tea cups and an English style scone and fairy cake, also in her favorite flavors. Luche tried not to smile too smugly when Ada gasped and fawned over them and Crowe happily dumped out the tea she had been sipping on and got fresh hot water from a little electronic tea kettle to make a fresh pot of tea for Ada so she could enjoy it immediately. And Cor tried and failed not to get enraged at the fact that Luche seemed already all to eager to try to get on the best terms possible with Ada. His baby died in less than 24 hours and already this asshole was showing off with going overboard with stuff. God he just wanted to deck him. But Cor had promised Ada he wouldn’t start anything with him. But he was all to eager for Luche to just go ahead and say something even mildly offensive and he would gladly beat his ass. The only comforting thought Cor could come up with is it would take less than two seconds to draw his gun and shoot him in the head and do so fast enough that Luche wouldn’t even have a chance to react. But no, Ada had been traumatized enough. He couldn’t do that to her, not right now….in front of her...probably….not. Plus there were too many witnesses and all her friends were on the edge of hating him and he felt like he could feel their resentment roll off of them in waves. 

“And we got you an assortment just in case you wanted to try something different.” Ravus shrugged when he produced a big box that had a nice assortment of even more tins of tea in it.

“Aw, you guys are so sweet, thank you.” Ada graciously thanked them before getting another round of hugs from everyone as Baxter wagged his tail on her lap, Baxter being so happy to see her even though he was bandaged up too before Sylva and Regis appeared as well.

“My goodness, give her room to breathe guys,” Sylva lightly and gently teased when she knocked on the open door.

“Hi Mum,” Ada laughed.

“Oh bless your soul for calling me that Dearest, how are you feeling?” Sylva asked as she put the flowers on the window sill along with all the others and sat down on the bed with her as the other girls scooted away to give her room.

“So sorry to hear about your loss,” Regis offered Cor before he noticed how Cor was barely hanging onto his cool with the room so full of people.

“Why don’t we get some air.” Regis suggested to Cor and Ada nodded her encouragement and permission to Cor who was hesitant but then was all too happy to get up and out of there before he cracked or snapped or both.

“Guys, could you also please give us a moment?” Sylva requested to rest of them before they took the hint and got out of there.

“Oh my that’s a lot of tea,” Sylva noted, breaking the ice before they both blew out a breath.

“It’s overwhelming to have so many visitors isn’t it?” Sylva guessed and Ada huffed a laugh.

“Yeah,” Ada agreed.

“I remember when I had my miscarriages, they were particularly rough and I didn’t want to see anyone but Victor. To see anyone else felt like burning my shortest fuse to turn me into an angry vengeful fireball.” Sylva explained in a joking manner as she made a face and got Ada to laugh.

“But you’re doing really well Sweetie, but remember, it’s ok to tell them to take a hike and just give you some space and some time. You’re healing from a lot of wounds, the deepest ones are always unseen. Please don’t push yourself beyond your limits.” Sylva offered sagely as Ada nodded along.

“Now, I have done everything I can possibly do on my end to make sure your stay here is as pleasant and comfortable as it can be while also being mindful to Cor’s loss too. So besides just your copay from his insurance, you should not be getting any medical bills and if you do, tell me and I’ll take care of those too.” Sylva informed her.

“Oh you didn’t have to Mum,” Ada shook her head and Sylva softly shushed her.

“Oh hush, I wanted to, you’ll have to forgive the boys and Cor, Cor called me last night and I made sure that once you were brought here you’d be taken care of to the best of our ability, and when they all told me the very basic overview as to what happened, I’ve been working all morning to make sure you stay taken care of, plus as CEO, I have codes and protocols that get stuff done immediately. Luna jokingly calls them my ‘God Codes’. So since you’re family, I was only all too happy to use them especially for you. Now don’t feel rushed getting out of here either, it’s a big hospital with plenty of room. You stay as long as you need to ok?” Sylva offered.

“Boys? Does Noctis and Ignis know too?” Ada asked.

“No. Sorry, I meant Ravus and Luche, Luche came to me first thing this morning, only moments after he found out himself, practically came into my office on his hands and knees begging for my intervention, which by that point, I already had and obviously I would never make anyone do that because that’s just ridiculous. Luche didn’t have his own codes yet and Ravus’ codes will fall a bit short for a little while yet. But it got done.” Sylva explained and tried not to grin when Ada’s face softened and she relaxed at hearing that Luche had done that.

“Well, let me give you my number here at the office so you can call my office directly from your room. If you need or want  _ anything _ , and I mean that, anything at all. Even if you just want to talk or whatever, please do not hesitate to call me.” Sylva invited as she wrote down her number on the dry erase board at the bottom, in large enough print that Ada could easily see it and dial it before getting her own business card out and writing every number she had for herself on it and on the back and handed it to Ada. “Do you want another hug?” Sylva asked when she saw how moved Ada was to all this and Ada nodded and Sylva sat back down and hugged her as tight as she dared and rubbed soothing circles into Ada’s back as Ada broke down and cried again before rocking her the way any mother would and spoke the softest sweetest words of comfort to her.

“How many miscarriages did you have?” Ada asked.

“Three, one before I had Ravus and two after I had Lunafreya before I had my tubes tied. I had the hardest time carrying both of them. Ravus was born at 32 weeks and that was only because I was on strict bed rest in this very hospital for most of the pregnancy, only a few rooms away from this room. Lunafreya only made it to 31 weeks on bed rest, because my body sucks and I had to have C-Sections for both of them because of all the complications. And Lunafreya, she was the surprise because I thought Victor had pulled out and apparently, he didn’t pull out in time. They lived in incubators for the first few months of their lives and were touch and go several times and it was absolute torture. Surprise miscarriages are sometimes worse because then you mourn all the what ifs and you start mourning all the joy and the possibilities you would normally would have felt had you known. But you should know that it’s ok to do all of that, mourn all of it. Don’t push yourself to get over it, your friends will start to move on quicker than you do and you’ll feel left behind and that they all stopped caring about you and please don’t start to believe those feelings, because those feelings that they stopped caring won’t be true. And some of them may say some really well intention-ed but  _ horrible _ things and you’ll want to scream and rip your hair out and it’s perfectly ok to scream and throw temper tantrums because that’s part of the process. And if you find yourself drawing away from everyone, especially Crowe because she is expecting herself and it may get too painful to have just another reminder of what you almost had yourself and that’s ok. She’ll do her best to understand and she’ll get over it. And sooner than you realize you’re going to wake up and not want to immediately scream and cry and then you’ll have a whole day where you won’t cry. You’ll want to but you won’t and it’ll followed by more days that you do cry, anywhere from a single or a few tears to buckets of tears. And then you’ll have a day where you see a baby and go ‘at least someone else was able to carry them’ and not want to die inside. And then another day you’ll be happy to see a baby or a pregnant woman and not feel jealous or cheated. And maybe, if you want to have more kids someday, you will and then you’ll wake up one day and realize that you’re passed this. And- or- you can go to the end of the spectrum I’m at and try to adopt everyone, every kid you come into contact with. Not that you’re a kid anymore mind you. But anyone in that age group or younger. I know it hurts and please, understand that you’re not alone, and I don’t mean your friends and family. Also keep in mind Cor lost just as much as you did and believe me, he will beat himself up over this for years to come. And he’ll have good days and bad days himself.” Sylva guessed and Ada nodded in confirmation.

“He’ll take longer to process this and come to terms with it. Give him time and patience and the benefit of the doubt. Don’t lose each other in this grief. Try to pull each other through but you both have to put in work, if you find you’re the only one doing the work, you should reevaluate things ok?” Sylva advised gently even though she feared that Cor would lose himself in work and be more determined than ever to hunt Gilgamesh down and wouldn’t stop until he did and he would leave Ada alone in her grief by being preoccupied with his job. She deserved someone who would be present with her. Not distracted, not angry, not vengeful which is what hopefully Luche would be. 

“Thanks Mum,” Ada whispered in thanks as she buried her face into Sylva’s chest.

“Have you called your parents yet?” Sylva asked thoughtfully.

“No, I don’t want to worry them, I don’t want them to ask how it happened and I don’t want to keep telling this story over and over again.” Ada pulled away and shook her head.

“Ok, that’s perfectly ok, you don’t have to tell anyone else what has happened either, except perhaps a therapist, which I highly recommend but you don’t have to. Don’t let me push that please.” Sylva requested.

“Actually three of them came earlier, Dr. Gentiana and I forget the other two.” Ada admitted.

“Dr. Gentiana is Lunafreya’s therapist as well as the rest of our family’s therapist, don’t tell anyone I told you that, that’s a HIPPA violation but whatever, anyway, she is absolutely wonderful. She has helped some people through some really... just awful... well to be perfectly frank, some fucked up shit.” Sylva stated plainly that got Ada to snicker a laugh and helped her stop crying. “But she specializes in helping people who have lived through some really traumatic experiences. Women especially. She usually doesn’t take on new patients, but as a favor to me I had her make an exception and if you like her, she’s the one I would recommend the most. In fact she had me stop recommending her because she got flooded with referrals from me.” Sylva explained.

“That’s where I’ve seen her card! In Luna’s wallet!” Ada realized as she had been racking her brain thinking she had seen Dr. Gentiana’s business card before.

“And feel free to ask Lunafreya about her too, I’m sure she’ll say the same things I am.” Sylva suggested.

“So who got you the tea?” Sylva asked as she noticed the tin on her table matched the ones in the box along with the tea set and the electronic teapot.

“Oh Luche got me all this one and a proper scone and a fairy cake, bless his soul, and then Beavus, Lib and Crowe got me the rest.” Ada explained as she pointed and gestured to everything. 

“Is this your favorite tea?” Sylva asked as she reached for it and picked it up to look at it thoughtfully.

“Yeah,” Ada confirmed with a nod.

“Like this brand and this flavor?” Sylva asked curiously. 

“Mmhm, I’m surprised Luche even remembered. I can’t get Cor to remember that, all he can recall is that I like tea period.” Ada muttered before she dug into her scone and practically moaned when all the flavors hit her taste buds just the way they were supposed to as she enjoyed the perfect texture.

“Well that was incredibly  _ thoughtful _ of him to remember a detail like that.” Sylva praised. “Can I smell it?” Sylva asked and Ada nodded adamantly before Sylva popped the lid and took a deep breath in.

“OOOOoooooohhhh,” Sylva ‘oohed’ appreciatively. “That smells downright heavenly.” Sylva praised.

“Do you mind if I get a picture of it so I can make sure my house has it for when you come to visit Dearest?” Sylva asked thoughtfully.

“Go for it,” Ada invited and Sylva snapped a picture of it with her phone.

“You know, you’ll learn this when you go to therapy but Luche has either knowingly but I’m guessing unknowingly helped you quite a bit by providing this, this is called ‘Distress Tolerance’. Small joys like this, food, smells, tastes, anything sensory that you find enjoyable, help you endure and tolerate distress.” Sylva revealed as she put it back in place.

“Yeah?” Ada asked, her heart melting a little more.

“Yep,” Sylva confirmed. “Well that’s my Mum talk, thank you for suffering through it as well as you did Dear.” Sylva thanked Ada.

“I needed it, I didn’t realize how much I needed a Mum until you came in.” Ada admitted.

“Oh bless you Sweetheart. And I will happily be your Mum from now on ok? If you want me in Mum mode, good luck trying to get me out of it.” Sylva warned teasingly which got them both to laugh.

“Ok, do you want everyone back in here or just Cor or is there anyone else you really want to see? Do you want more rest?” Sylva asked thoughtfully and rubbed Ada’s arms before taking her hands within her own and holding them gently, rubbing the back of Ada’s hands with her thumbs comfortingly.

“Just Cor, I know he’s overwhelmed right now, he’s not used to all the people.” Ada answered. “I don’t want to be rude but..”

“Hey, don’t worry about that, throw the fear of being rude out the window. You and your recovery come first. I’ll happily go into Mum mode and tell them to take a hike. ‘They can bite my shiny metal ass’.” Sylva quoted Futurama and Ada erupted into laughter.

“Victory is mine!” Sylva said in her best Stewie impression and Ada laughed even harder.

“My kids hate it when I quote their shows, embarrasses the crap out of them, probably why I love to do it so much. The best part is quoting it wrong and watching them die a little on the inside, I won’t lie, gives me life.” Sylva giggled. “Ok Sweetheart, let me get out of your hair,” Sylva suggested before leaning forward and hugging Ada tightly again and kissed her cheek sweetly before she pet Baxter affectionately and got up and took her leave as she mentally made a note to make sure that the room would be equipped to handle Baxter staying with Ada. 

“Guys, we should probably call it a day, she’s pretty exhausted in every respect.” Sylva gently but firmly told them before seeing Cor down the hall talking with Regis still.

“Say your goodbyes quickly and quietly. And then get the hell out.” Sylva sarcastically quipped which got them all to snicker a laugh.

“Except you two, I would like to have a word.” Sylva clarified seriously as she pointed her index and middle fingers to Ravus and Luche who were standing side by side before walking towards Cor to offer her own condolences while the rest of them just popped in and said their quick goodbyes.

“Regis and Luna said you used your ‘God Code’?” Cor asked with an amused but appreciative smile.

“Yes, I put them in before we left last night.” Sylva admitted. 

“Thank you so much.” Cor graciously thanked her. “I didn’t even realize you could do that.” Cor admitted.

“I hope you don’t mind I slipped into “mum mode” with her since she could use a mother’s comfort for the time being. And I told her about my own multiple experiences with this _ kind _ of loss which I think helped quite a bit. Hearing from someone who has already gone through it and come out the other side.” Sylva offered.

“Oh I didn’t...thank you, I don’t know what to say or how to say it and you know me, I’m not..great with words.” Cor admitted lowly as he felt himself grow embarrassed with how fragmented he was being. He hadn’t slept well last night either. 

“I’m just gonna hug you.” Sylva tried to warn him before standing up on her tip toes and hugged him tightly and smiled sadly when he hugged her back just as tight. Seeing as how she was kind of a big sister to him or perhaps an aunt.

“Sweetheart, you just lost your baby, a baby you didn’t know you had to loose. It’s hard. I know first hand how hard it is. It’s ok to mourn, you need to mourn, mourn the loss of the life, the loss of the joy you normally would have felt in finding out she was expecting and mourning how your lives are and could have been forever changed and mourning the ‘what if’s’ too. Don’t ever think you’re being weak by mourning and going through all the stages of grief at  _ your pace _ , not anyone else’s. Just take care of yourself and take care of Ada. Don’t let the doctors or nurses rush you out of here, when you and Ada are ready to go home, you’ll know and she’ll tell you and I’ll make sure Baxter can stay here with her and don’t worry, I’ll get food and dishes and things delivered shortly. Hopefully. But don’t rush yourselves either. Be patient and be  _ kind _ to each other, and be understanding, that’s all you should do. And please know that you’re not alone, I know that’s all you want to be is alone and her friends aren’t leaving her but her friends are her family right now Cor, and for better or worse you need to be her friend and her family. Make sure she doesn’t feel alone and don’t get quiet because you’re afraid of saying the wrong thing. Make your presence known and felt. Stay with her mentally, not just physically. Very few things are worse than being with someone knowing their head is a million miles away.” Sylva cautioned gently even though she knew Cor would completely ignore all of this but it was important that Regis witness her giving that advice as she rubbed soothing circles into his back too and Cor nodded his agreement and understanding at that.

“Will do,” Cor croaked as he fought to keep himself from crying before looking past her to see Ravus and Luche hanging out down the hall but further away from the room.

“Who’s left down there?” Sylva asked.

“Just Beavus and Knucklehead.” Cor chuckled.

“Well I asked them to stay behind because we have work to do, I’ll take them with me when I go.” Sylva explained as she let go of him and returned to standing on her own feet. “And don’t read too much into well intention-ed gifts, they’re meant as ‘Distress Tolerance’ which is a form of therapy that you’ll learn about hopefully when you go and get some because both of you could use it.” Sylva reminded him. “Just ask him or Lunafreya, Ravus won’t want to talk about it, he never does.” Sylva gestured to Regis. “Also, I put my direct phone line number in Ada’s room, both of you are free to use it, if you want or need  _ anything _ , anything at all, it’ll ring my office directly and she has a card with every phone number I have, I suggest putting all numbers into your phones and don’t hesitate to call ok? We’re here for you. As much as you want us to be.” Sylva reminded him sweetly.

“Thank you,” Cor thanked her again.

“You’re welcome, take it easy the rest of the day and the rest of the week, tell anyone else who wants to come and visit, to either send a text or wait until you’re up to having more visitors and to ultimately, take a hike.” Sylva advised with a grin.

“Will do, now go take a hike.” Cor teased and Sylva barked a laugh.

“Ha! Ok, I’m going I’m going.” Sylva laughed. “I’ll see you at home soon Dearest.” Sylva bid to Regis before turning and walking away and nodding to Luche and Ravus to follow her before they obediently took that cue and followed behind her and turned and went to the elevators.

“You know, I used to think she was bossy, now I just understand, she’s just _The_ _Boss_.” Cor muttered under his breath to Regis who was smiling so proudly at his wife’s back.

“Yeah, it’s a tough job and she’s tougher than the job so it works out.” Regis shrugged before giving his friend one last hug before he promised to keep in touch and offered to help every way he could and offered to go to Cor’s house to get him some clothes to change into so Cor could get a shower and Cor immediately gave Regis his house keys to do just that and Regis promised to be back as soon as he could.

Meanwhile in the elevator.

“Luche, does the term ‘Distress Tolerance’ mean anything to you yet? Did you look at those books I gave you?” Sylva asked while she kept her back to her boys but could see in the reflection how Ravus and Luche looked a little worriedly at each other.

“No...not really.” Luche honestly admitted.

“Huh, well Distress Tolerance is when you are going through something that you find distressing and you distract yourself from said distress via sensory engaging distractions, like eating or drinking for example, either you should provide this for yourself or someone could provide this for you.” Sylva listed off casually.

“Like say for instance, your favorite tea, a tea set and a proper English scone.” Sylva gave an example and finally gave Luche a grin over her shoulder before the elevator dinged and the doors opened to the floor where their offices were.

“Right about now though, you should get those dogs.” Sylva urged them before Ravus and Luche looked at each other and nodded in agreement before Ravus took Luche with him to the dog breeder in question. 

“Can I help you?” The woman answered as she came to the door. 

“Hi, my name is Ravus Nox Fleuret and this is…” Ravus began to introduce.    
“Oh you must be Luche Lazarus!” She realized with a bright smile as she opened the door fully. 

“My name is Zara Kisska, I’ve been expecting you all week. Sylva said you’d be by this morning.” She said as she shook their hands then invited them into the house before she led them through to the back yard where a group of dogs were playing.  

“Kona! Kahlua!” Zara called before two brendle cane corsos came bounding up happily as the other dogs stopped and looked up and stared curiously at them before they walked over to them too. 

“Sit,” she commanded and they all sat down immediately before she had Luche and Ravus meet them as Luche just fell in love with Kona and Kahlua as did Ravus. “Now Kona is a male and Kahlua is a female and both of them have been spayed and neutered and all of them have all their shots…” Zara began to explain as she told Luche more about the dogs as the others smelled them curiously too. 

“You wouldn’t by any chance have a…” Ravus began before Zara smiled smugly. 

“This is Sasha.” Zara introduced as the silver gray cane corso licked his hands. “Your Mom said you might want one too and requested I keep Sasha back for you.” Zara grinned as Ravus fell in love with Sasha as Sasha fell in love with him too. 

“Obviously they’re all great with other dogs, great with other animals, I have three cats and a few parakeets and they’re all great with them. You’ll want to feed them a really, really good dog food…” She continued as she showed them what she fed the dogs and made suggestions about toys and treats and how much time to spend with them and to obviously socialize them with their friends and their pets and what their personalities were like and what she had been training them with and what commands she used and what tone of voice she used when she did it and demonstrated those commands for them before she asked for 5k per dog since they were all show quality dogs and had pedigrees and papers and extra obedience training which Ravus and Luche gladly paid and got their papers and their vet records before Luche and Ravus got their leashes and walked away with their new dogs and had them get in the back of Ravus’ car before he drove them to the pet store to get everything they would need for the dogs before driving Luche back to the hospital so he could get his car and take his own new dogs and all their stuff home. He spent the rest of the night getting them settled in his house and made sure they knew where to go potty at and where their food was at and that they felt right at home as Ravus did the same to Sasha as Selena fell in love with Sasha too from their apartment right next door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to break everything up into three parts so this is the last part of that chapter.


	11. Moving On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes moving on from a traumatic experience is a lot easier said than done.

Chapter 11

 

Cor helped Ada take a shower by taking a shower with her and just held her under the hot water for a long time because he didn’t know what to say so he said nothing while he mentally tried to come up with something to say. But when he was done Ada got to see the full extent of his new wounds. 

“What happened to you while I was gone?” Ada asked as he helped her get dressed and ready for bed. 

“Don’t worry about it. You have enough on your plate.” Cor waived off as he got dressed in some PJ’s too, grateful that Regis had gone to his house to get him some clean clothes and things. 

“Oh come on, just tell me Cor!” Ada pleaded before Cor got her tucked back into bed. 

“While you were gone I got close to Gilgamesh, really close, like I saw him from across a warehouse we raided, he was under full guard and I tried to hack my way through to him and I did actually got to fight him but he... he slipped away again. So I may have gotten hit a bit. I was in this hospital for a little bit but I’m fine, besides you were on the cruise to Alaska and I didn’t want you to worry or spoil your vacation and there was no way for you to come home even if you wanted to. Sylva did everything she could from the boat, which thankfully that ship had internet and I swore her to secrecy and not to tell you or anyone else. Granted my stay wasn’t as nice as this was but I didn’t need all of this or want it. So once I got out, I changed tactics and I thought if I could get The Empress and nail her down permanently that Gilgamesh would cave and come for her himself and I’d be able to trap them both and finally end it once and for all.” Cor explained. “I was hoping to do that before you came home. I should have sent you on a plane back to your parents the moment you came back. But I swear to you Ada, I will make this right and the bastard will see justice, I swear.” Cor admitted as he got in the bed next to hers as he held her hands in his as they faced each other before the nurse knocked and came and hooked Ada back up to her IV fluids since the bedding had been changed while Ada was in the shower and there had been warm blankets put on under the comforter so the bed was perfectly warm for her. 

“Feel a little more human?” Sadie gently teased since the line she used to get Ada in the shower was to scrub off the grime and blood and ‘feel more human’ which had gotten Ada to crack a smile as Sadie grinned wider when Ada cracked a larger smile. 

“Yeah,” Ada nodded, she had needed a shower and a good scrub down and to brush her teeth, put on some deodorant and stuff. 

“Good, do you want some more meds to help you sleep?” She asked thoughtfully. 

“Yes please.” Ada nodded. 

“How about...remeron? It’s an anti-anxiety med and it’s side effect is to knock you out while it calms you down.” Sadie offered. 

“Perfect.” Ada smiled appreciatively as Sadie punched that into the computer before she pulled the med out of her pocket and administered it, having already loaded up before she came into the room so that there wouldn’t be a wait time for Ada and within seconds Ada’s eyes grew heavy before she fell asleep. 

“Cor? Do you want some too?” Sadie asked thoughtfully. 

“Nah, I’m good.” Cor waived off. 

“Ok, well get some sleep you two. Let me know if you need anything.” Sadie offered before she pet Baxter affectionately as he curled up next to Ada in her bed. 

“Will do, good night.” Cor bid her before she bid him goodnight and left. 

The next day Cor took Baxter for a walk to go potty in the little rooftop garden on that floor while Sylva stepped in to check on Ada. 

“So how are you feeling today?” Sylva asked curiously as she came into the room. 

“A little better. So Cor told me last night that while we were in Alaska he was here in the hospital, so since he told me, can you tell me more about that?” Ada requested. 

“Yeah, I can actually, I had Cor sign a waiver before he would be discharged so that when he told you, you would be able to see for yourself the full extent of it, I have it printed out already, I’ll go get it.” Sylva answered before she turned and went and got it and called Rose to come to the hospital before she came back.

“Now if you don’t mind, I called Rose, Gladio’s mother, because she’s the one who brought him in and she’ll be able to tell you what she found when she found him.” Sylva began before Cor came back. 

“Oh no.” Cor frowned. “Sylva come on, she’s been through enough, don’t do this now.” Cor pleaded. 

“Hey, since you didn’t want to tell me the whole story, I found someone who will.” Ada challenged. 

“I told you all you needed to know, more than I should have.” Cor defended as Sylva rolled her eyes so hard they damn near rolled out of her head. 

“If you had told me  _ enough _ , I wouldn’t have reached out to her.” Ada maintained. 

“Fine, you two knock yourselves out, I’m going to call into work.” Cor huffed as he put Baxter back up on her bed as Baxter curled up next to Ada and simply sat there. 

“As you can see Cor is of the mindset that the less people know, the better, he thinks that he’s protecting everyone by keeping them “blissfully ignorant” obviously that doesn’t work.” Sylva muttered under her breath as she pulled up a chair before Rose came into the room. 

“Hey Sweetie, how are you holding up?” Rose asked thoughtfully. 

“Well I’m not bawling my eyes out right now.” Ada shrugged. 

“So you’re numb, ok.” Rose nodded in understanding as she came and pulled up a chair too before they both went over Cor’s medical history with Ada as well as Rose gave insights with Cor’s past and the nitty gritty of his personality as Sylva had all the medical history to back it up and show the full extent of his injuries as Ada realized, Cor had always been this way and that she simply ‘got in the way’ of his work, his life. He said he had changed and that he wasn’t this way anymore but clearly that wasn’t true. 

And he had _downplayed it all_ **again** , he had surgery again, not just one- he had _five_. His liver and his kidneys had been slashed and had to be sewn back together, his spine got hit, he could have been a parapalegic, he could have died, he was super close to dying several times. He wasn’t just in the hospital for a day or two he was here for over a week. His life had hung in the balance and he was in the intensive care unit, he had gotten attacked worse than he had ever been before and he didn’t tell her. He didn’t….he kept this from her. If Sylva hadn’t gotten him to sign a waiver to have this released to her, she never would have been able to know. She just sat there and let all of this soak in. She had almost lost him and it was like...he didn’t care that she almost did. His idea of “protecting her” is keeping her in the dark, he had promised to stop doing that and he broke his promise. As she realized how there was no way he was ever going to live up to that either. Had she been foolish to expect that from him? He was never going to change, not for her, not for anyone and he was going to kill himself in the process. He wasn’t going to get her justice, no there was no justice to be gotten, no, this was a vendetta and this was vengeance, she was just collateral damage. What had she been to him anyway? Just a good lay and live in mother to clean his house and do his laundry and warm his bed? To take care of him on his terms because emotionally and mentally he didn’t need her. Obviously, he never needed her. Not really. He had been used to be self sufficient and all she had been was a distraction. One that he thought he wanted and he thought was good for a while at least but now, she clearly just got in his way. She didn’t want this life anymore. She was done. She had thought this was fun and “ _exciting_ ” oh yeah, _loads of excitement_ , not knowing if he was going to come home to her, not knowing what was going on, always being in the dark, always being on the sidelines and the supportive role while he got all the “action”. _This was bullshit_. How could he ever protect her when he had never even tried to protect himself. He obviously knew it was just a matter of time before this happened and the risk of her and her safety and wellbeing was worth his quest for Gilgamesh. _Fuck this_. 

After a couple of days, Ada felt it was time to go home and was discharged and was really quiet on the way home which left Cor to do his own thinking in his own head because he felt he couldn’t say anything without starting a fight because the fight that had ensued after Sylva and Rose had left had been big and bad enough that the other patients had called security and he had promptly just left for work and didn’t come back until she had fallen asleep. 

Ada wasn’t surprised by that. She wasn’t surprised when he left her alone all day once he brought her back to his house that didn’t feel like home, Ada realized, it never really had either. But because of what happened, she was  _ terrified _ to leave the house and started to have panic attacks. Crowe was  _ livid _ when she came by to see Ada having a panic attack and Cor was nowhere in sight and ignoring Ada’s calls. Luche was  _ fuming _ because he did his best to keep a respectful distance once she left the hospital but at the call from Crowe that Ada was at home alone having a panic attack, he immediately dropped everything and came running and thanks to those books Sylva had loaned him since had done nothing but read those and study them like his life depended on it, he was able to get her calmed down. Luche and Crowe worked out how to get Ada back to therapy. And for a few days more they tag teamed with Ada, if one of them wasn’t with her, the other was while Cor was at work with Crowe taking the evening shifts to be there and make sure Cor came home to her before she’d leave Ada. 

Luche even coaxed her into leaving the house to take high tea again. He thought if that if she could see herself looking put together and with makeup on and her hair done, she’d feel a little better about herself, like she was coming back together and coming back to herself too. 

“You look beautiful.” Luche praised as he drove her to the tea house as he held her hand tightly, Baxter, Kona and Kahlua in the back seat with them since when Luche came, he brought the dogs to get to know ‘mommy’ and the dogs took to her as such and had always been hesitant to leave her when he would leave. 

“Thanks,” Ada whispered as she squeezed back. Grateful he was with her. She preferred his presence to Cor’s because when Cor was home, he was quiet and still wouldn’t tell her shit. At least Luche talked with her, talked her through stuff. And even when Cor was home, Ada felt even more alone in his presence now. 

Once at the tea shop Luche escorted her to the private booth in the back so that Ada could still be ‘ _ out _ ’ but not feel ‘ _ exposed _ ’ because the two were different things. So here Luche sat- across from her, pouring her a cup of tea, in his suit since he had been in the office that morning trying to do a little bit of work before he came to take care of her and he was looking particularly handsome today while she still felt a bit raw on the inside despite looking put together on the outside. But she did feel better that they were both dressed up. Cor didn’t believe in dressing up outside of a uniform or simply a Tshirt and jeans for everything, granted they were black jeans and black shirts, but still. The man owned one suit and one tux that Sylva had bought for him for the wedding. 

Luche had a whole closet full of suits and shirts with gorgeous ties. All of the suits were tailored to fit him so he looked like a damn suit model half the time. Ada still noticed how it was Luche that got looked at appreciatively once they arrived in a teahouse full of women, he was the only gentleman there and those other women had looked at him like he was  _ a snak. _ It both made her feel jealous that even hinted at possessiveness and made her  _ so proud _ to be with him. But to Luche, it was like they weren’t even there. 

“I’ve missed you.” Luche finally said after he ate his cucumber sandwich and they were quiet for a few long moments and Luche felt like if he didn’t say something his brain was going to explode because he wanted to say a thousand and one things all at once but he had to really be mindful of her and how she was feeling and make sure she didn’t feel overwhelmed and he couldn’t overwhelm her with his thoughts and feelings and emotions right now. But GOD was it hard. 

“What are you talking about? You saw me yesterday. Plus you’ve been too busy babysitting me to do anything other than that, I haven’t been anywhere for you to miss me.” Ada gently argued as she took the tea cup and drank from it again, the warmth of the tea cup warming her fingers as the tea and his presence seemed to warm and soothe her soul.

“Not what I meant and I don’t babysit you, you’re an adult, if anything I just simply hang out with you.” Luche countered gently. 

“Then what did you mean?” Ada tilted her head as she considered him curiously.  

“Well... I’m legitimately scared all of this is going to change you so much, you’ll never be the same and you’ll never get to be your old self again, I’m going to do all I can to keep up with you and keep up with how this will probably continue to change you but...” Luche countered before he trailed off and looked away guiltily. He shouldn’t have said that or brought this up, this was dangerous territory. 

Ada simply smiled sadly at him, not sure how to answer. “Are you sure you’re not missing something really important back at the office right now?” Ada questioned changing the subject as she felt a deep sense of dejavu.

“Nope, I don’t deal with anything that’s life or death, whatever is there can wait until whenever I get back, I got a new office when we came back and I'm still settling in and Sylva made sure I didn't get anything important that would need more attention than you, nepotism is  _ fantastic _ sometimes plus you’re always  _ way more important _ than any paperwork I could possibly do there, something Sylva and I completely agree on.” Luche insisted, looking back up at her, his gaze soft and his grin gentle as it turned reassuring and Ada felt warmed by the sentiment and she could tell he wanted to say more but forced his mouth to stay shut and let her have a moment of peace but part of her wanted to hear whatever he would say.

“What?” Ada asked, hoping that would help him say whatever he wanted or needed to stay.

“Never mind.” Luche shook his head no before he picked his tea cup up and sipped it again, trying to acquire his taste for it. 

“Stop.” Ada demanded. “Everyone looks at me like they want to tell me a thousand and one things but no one tells me what they’re really thinking anymore and I hate it. Luche, I want you to be the one person on this planet who doesn’t do that to me. Just tell me what’s going through your head, don’t worry about offending me or hurting me or anything like that because out of everyone you’re the one who’s actively healing me and making me feel better and keeping me safe while gently pushing me towards recovery which is what I need. So just...keep talking to me, keep communicating with me. Stop holding back.” Ada pleaded desperately and Luche caved. She did technically ask for this so he leaned his elbows onto the table and leaned forward and made sure she looked him in the eye. Go big or go home and he was going for broke.  

“Ok.  _ I love you _ , I’m in love with you and I never fell out of love with you and I have never stopped loving you and the last 9 months have been a living hell for me because I haven’t been  _ with you _ and when you broke up with me I felt like you took my heart with you and you never gave it back so I’ve been an empty shell ever since and no matter what I’ve done to attempt to move on or find someone else I’ve failed spectacularly because I’ve only ever wanted  _ you _ . And it’s killing me keeping a respectful distance but if that’s what you need that’s what I’ll do. I thought I was going to lose my mind when this happened to you and only God knows what I would have done if the unimaginable happened to you because the idea of living in this world without you in it is abhorrent to my very soul. You are my whole world. So anything I can do to spend time with you, no matter what the cost to me personally is- is something I’ll always do if it’s  _ for you _ , I got Kona and Kahlua  _ for you _ , I got seven tea sets at home just _ for you _ , I have a whole cupboard in my kitchen that’s bursting at the seams because I can’t stop buying ridiculously expensive but hopefully really good tea in the hopes that one of these days you might love me back again and you’ll want to go home with me and use those tea sets and drink the tea and find even more tea that you love instead of going home to Cor when Cor isn’t even coming home  _ to you,  _ not in any way that matters anyway. He ignores you and has abandoned you mentally and emotionally and it’s all of my strength to not scream and yell at you and shake some sense into you to see what’s really happening and it’s killing me that you’re hurting and I can’t fix it and make it better and it’s killing me that you will probably never get justice when you are the most deserving person there is of it and I would give everything to go back in time and change everything and as angry as I am at Cor, I’m also angry and frustrated with myself because you deserve better and I’m trying to give that to you if only you would take it.” Luche finally spoke, his voice dropping to a low murmur so that he wouldn’t draw attention to them but it felt so good to finally get that off of his chest. But the look in his eyes brought tears to hers. The words were eating their way out of her throat as she stood as Luche did the same and came into his arms as he hugged her tight.

“I only ever want you too! I love you so much! I never should have left you, it was the biggest mistake of my life and I’ve done nothing but regret it ever since and I’ve been so miserable Luche, please, please forgive me, I’ll never be unfaithful to you ever again as long as I live! I want to be happy again, I want to be happy with you because you make me happy! You make me feel loved and cared for. Please, please take me to Cor’s house to get my stuff and take me home!” Ada wailed into his chest as she felt so safe and warm in his arms again. Like nothing could hurt her ever again.

“Oh thank God! Finally!” Luche exclaimed in relief before he kissed her, letting all the built up emotion over the last few months finally come to a head and kissed her like a man starved as she kissed him back in kind. He tasted better than he ever did. Luche paid for lunch and grabbed her hand and left with her and once in the car they made out again because it had been long overdue and they finally didn’t have anything to get in the way or hold them back anymore and once Luche finally got to drive back, Ada texted Crowe before Crowe texted the gang who all showed up at Cor’s house to help Ada move out as quickly as possible and made sure they got everything that was hers while Ada wrote a break up note to Cor. 

Within the hour, they had gotten all of Ada’s stuff loaded into their vehicles and happily and super quickly they had her things loaded into Luche’s apartment. Even Baxter was happy to get moved to the new place and happily laid down on the third dog bed in the living room and stretched out after getting acquainted with the food and water dishes and the premium dog food and the little backyard and Sylva was cheering and dancing and leaping for joy in her office when she got the text from her kids and from Luche about the change. That and her and Tredd did win the pool since their friends had secretly opened a bet as to when Luche and Ada would get back together and Sylva had picked today and Tredd had simply added his bet with hers. 

Cor came home and was relieved when it was peaceful and quiet and sat in his chair and relaxed for a moment before he frowned in confusion.  _ It shouldn’t be this quiet _ . Maybe Ada was sleeping. He went upstairs and found his bed empty but made before he looked around and noticed Ada’s things were gone. Vanished like she was never there to begin with. 

“Oh fucking hell.” Cor groused as he looked around and was relieved to find that his stuff was still ok, she didn’t do the whole- dump your shit into your yard- thing. Or destroy anything and everything she could touch- thing. 

He went downstairs and found the note Ada left him on the kitchen island. It was surprisingly, sweet, fucking sad but still, he was surprised it was as...well put together as it was as he suddenly realized that Sylva had warned him, everything listed here was  _ exactly _ what Sylva told him not to do that he had done. Hell, even Regis had repeated it, Clarus and Gladio too, it was all his fault, he had the perfect girl and he lost her because he was an idiot and an ass, he could have had it all but he blew it and she was gone forever. Now he could blame no one but himself for losing her. So he did the “sensible” thing, got into the cabinet and grabbed the first bottle of liquor his hand touched and started chugging. 

Meanwhile Luche was all too happy to have Ada settle in and Ada found herself actually smiling to herself as she put her clothes away and put her toiletries in the bathroom and caught herself smiling in the mirror. She felt so much lighter and like she didn’t have to dread...anything. She knew Luche was always going to come home to her. Like she was more than just turning a page, she was snapping the book labeled ‘Cor’ shut and reopening the book marked ‘Luche’ and starting a new chapter in that one. 

“You ok?” Luche asked as he came into the bathroom with her to check up on her. 

“Yup,” Ada nodded as she finished putting her things away.

“What do you want for dinner?” Luche asked thoughtfully. 

“I have no idea.” Ada shrugged with a little giggle.

“Do you want to go out or stay in?” Luche put to her as he leaned against the door frame. 

“Stay in.” Ada decided. 

“Well I don’t really have “groceries” groceries, but there’s  _ a bunch _ of places that deliver or I will happily go and pick something up if they don’t deliver here so come on,” Luche invited and gently and reverently took her hand and led her downstairs to the kitchen where there was a drawer full of takeout menus and got them all out as well as got his apps up on his phone so he could order their first official dinner at home. Granted it wasn’t nearly as glamorous as he wanted it to be but at least she was here. He would make it glamorous later. Oh he was going to do the whole, candles, rose petals, sweep her off her feet big romantic gesture soon enough. Right now he just wanted to her to feel at ease and comfortable and not put any pressure on her at all in any way. 

“Just tell me what sounds good and I’ll get it here, whatever you want.” Luche invited as Ada looked them over before they ordered several things from a few different places before Luche finally got changed into comfy clothes and came back down stairs to relax on the couch with Ada, happy to practically have her sit on his lap she cuddled so close to him with a throw blanket over both of them as the dogs still laid on them both, Kahlua especially getting as much of herself onto Ada as she could as Luche was damn near pinching himself that she was here with him, in his arms and back with him- while they waited for the delivery and simply watched TV in companionable silence and as usual the dogs alerted that there was someone there when all three got up and stared at the door, their tails wagging slowly but Kona and Kahlua didn’t bark because they had been trained not to before Luche got up and got the door and paid the delivery guy generously before he had to carry the bags high so the dogs wouldn’t sniff holes through the bags before putting them on the breakfast bar that separated the living room from the kitchen and started unpacking everything before handing Ada her food before they relaxed on the couch again, simply eating and watching tv. LIke it was just another day for them but he was happy they could at least be happy and content to just be and Ada was happy to  _ just be _ and feel settled already. 

When they had both eaten their fill Luche put the leftovers away and made a mental note to actually go and do some real grocery shopping with Ada before Ada came up behind and just hugged his back which got Luche to smile and hug her arms back as he couldn’t help but smile wide when he felt her nuzzle her head into his back before she came around and pulled him down to kiss her. Luche was supposed to be controlled when he kissed her but  _ god damn _ , he couldn’t help it, before he knew it, he had her pushed up against the fridge because she was smiling into the kiss, fisting her hands into his clothes and trying to pull herself up onto him which he was all too happy to help as he lifted her and to have her wrap her legs around his waist had him almost past the point of no return. 

“Oh God, wait, uh, I...you don’t have to, we don’t have to, if you’re not…” Luche tried to put on the breaks before he did lose control. 

“Lu, if you don’t fuck me until I can’t walk straight right now, I’ll kill you, plus this place needs to be christened properly.” Ada insisted and that was all the permission Luche needed before he let the floodgates of his affections open and promptly carried her up the stairs himself as Ada cackled and started stripping her shirt and bra off. 

A few days later they shopped at Pier One and several other places to decorate the place to really make it theirs while Cor after sobering up enough to go to therapy with Dr. Gentiana.

“So where’s Ada today?” Gentiana asked as she sat in her chair and got her notebook out even though she knew exactly where Ada was and what she was up to since Ada had gone to see her only a couple of hours before. 

“She left me.” Cor answered as he handed her the note as Gentiana took it and read it over and made some notes. 

“Cor, I’ve known you for years, I’d like to think over that time I’ve come to know you fairly well in that time, so now that you’re here, I’d like to do a little exercise.” Gentiana began and reached behind her and pulled out an inflatable bat and stood up before she hit Cor upside the head with it a few times. 

“Ow, what the fuck Tiana?!” Cor asked as he shielded himself from her blows while Gentiana finally did what Ada, Sylva and so many others had wished they had done to him by just,  _ wailing on him _ with this inflatable baseball bat.  

“Really?! You took an 18 year old, exposed her to her first super traumatic experience, purposefully kept her misinformed and in the dark and then left her _ alone _ and  _ on her own _ when you came home  _ for days _ ?! She was having panic attacks left and right and you ignored her! And you’re  _ surprised _ she left you?!” Gentiana growled once she was done before she got straightened up and sat back down before she put the bat away before she looked questioningly at Cor who only hung his head in shame. 

“Just because you’re jaded and callused doesn’t mean that she should be too. So here’s the deal, you knew better, you don’t get to hate Luche for picking Ada up when you clearly dropped her and you don’t get to blame Ada for being a human being and having needs that you clearly didn’t fulfill. This note was a kindness, read it before you think about entering into another relationship because I can tell you right now, _ every woman _ would do what she did. Now, let’s move forward shall we?...” Gentiana began as she handed the note back to Cor and continued with the therapy session. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends the Cor and Ada romantic relationship and LUCHE AND ADA GET BACK TOGETHER FOR GOOD aaaaahhhhhhh, I'm so excited. So happy. But I'd like to say that Luche and Ada are better off now because they both got to grow up a lot.


	12. Romantic Blow Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luche finally gets the chance to have that big romantic blowout he's mentally planned out for a while- Ada decides she's ready for a little spice in their love life. Warning- smut to follow.

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND

 

Chapter 12

 

Ada was in the middle of getting a massage, her and the girls had gone to their favorite spa for a spa day and Ada had just gotten her new bank cards in from getting added as a signer to Luche’s accounts and Luche told her to get anything and everything she wanted and not worry about the cost and she was going all out, getting a mani pedi, a hair cut and some highlights and lowlights and a facial and her makeup redone, her bruises had faded and her body had healed and thanks to a lot of ongoing therapy, her mind was healing too. 

Meanwhile Luche, Ravus, Nyx, Libertus, Gladio, Tredd, Pelna and Craig were all going from each other’s apartments to make sure they would have dinner ready and waiting for their girls when they got done having a spa day. They were going all out, making sure the dinners were several courses long, the apartments were perfectly clean and had gotten rose petals by the case and made sure each place was picture perfect for a huge romantic gesture while each guy made his partner’s favorite meal.

Ada came home and gasped when she saw the way the rose petals had been strewn across the floor leading upstairs, there were candles everywhere and the scent of her favorite foods filled her nose and made her stomach growl. 

“Oh Luche,” Ada cooed as she looked at everything and just couldn’t stop smiling as a few tears came to her eyes. This was beautiful and romantic and so thoughtful before Luche greeted her properly by kissing her after he put the prime rib roast on the table. 

“Hey,” Luche grinned proudly as he put it down and went up and kissed her as his arms wrapped around her and held her tight. He was dressed in a dressy casual fashion and Ada felt like she had stepped into a magazine. Everything was picture perfect. 

“How was Twilla? You look amazing. I love what you did with your hair.” Luche asked as they broke for air and he took the bags that had dropped from her hands that she had been carrying since they had done some shopping before the spa and she had let them go to embrace Luche and she was so happy that only his face pulled away but he otherwise kept his arms comfortably around her while she did the same to him before they both seemed to sway to soft music that was playing on the stereo in the apartment. 

“Thank you, yeah it was  _ amazing _ . You need to come with me next time, they have couples massage, that’s what Noct and Iggy had and they had nothing but high praise about it.” Ada grinned. 

“Sounds great, we could do that...well not next weekend but the weekend after that.” Luche mentally calculated. 

“Really?” Ada smiled brighter. 

“Yeah, go ahead and schedule it and let me know what time so I’ll put it in my schedule.” Luche confirmed. 

“I will, but first, food.” Ada said as she nodded over to the beautifully set table with real china and silverware and a steaming pot of tea waiting for her before Luche let her go and pulled her chair out for her before he got her bags and stowed those away so she could focus on the meal which they happily dug into. 

“Have I told you how much I love it that you cook?” Ada moaned around her food as she devoured everything and was so touched that Luche had done all this work and made a gourmet meal for her to her liking and even noticed that he had done some housekeeping because everything was immaculate and smelled fresh and clean. 

“I tried, Rae, Nyx and Craig helped a lot.” Luche admitted. 

“Yeah but the fact that you even try and put forth so much effort means a lot to me.” Ada fawned as she poured herself a cup of tea and took a tentative sip. She had made a dent in Luche’s tea cabinet and together they had weeded out which ones were going to be repeat buys and which ones were not and this was one of her favorites, it was a good evening tea since it was decaf but had an amazing flavor that went with everything. 

“I know. That’s why I do it.” Luche grinned proudly, happy that she noticed and recognized his hard work before he reached over and took her hand to kiss the back of it sweetly which melted her in her chair before she mirrored his actions then used her hold on him to pull him over to kiss her again since they were sitting kitty corner from each other. 

“I got you something.” Ada giggled. 

“Yeah?” Luche grinned wider. Tickled that she did. She always had great taste whenever she bought gifts and he had yet to not love whatever she got. 

“It’s for later.” Ada giggled as her cheeks stained cherry which got him to smile wider as a giggle escaped him. It was _ that kind _ of something. 

“Can’t wait.’ Luche smiled even brighter. “So I wanted to ask you about something.” Luche changed the subject. 

“What?” Ada returned as she tilted her head curiously. 

“So Sylva is a helicopter pilot and a small aircraft pilot too and she’s offered to help Rae and I and her other “kids” to get our pilot licenses.” Luche began as Ada’s eyes lit up. 

“Really?” Ada beamed happily. 

“Yeah, so what do you think about that?” Luche asked. 

“That would be amazing!” Ada fawned. 

“Good, cause it’s your dad is coming back to teach us.” Luche revealed. 

“Really? Wait what? Us? Like you and Rae us or you and me us?” Ada posed. 

“Both,Sylva apparently made him an offer he couldn’t refuse so your parents are moving back but your brother is staying in London, if you want to learn it too that is and if you’re ok with me going into that as well.” Luche clarified. 

“Hell yes!” Ada immediately agreed before she kissed him excitedly. “Why wouldn’t I be ok with that?” Ada asked after she kissed him. 

“Well because flying, as you know, has it’s dangers and I didn’t want to agree or jump into anything without talking about it with you first and making sure you’re ok with it.” Luche explained. 

“Aww, thank you, no that doesn’t bother me at all, it’s a lot of fun.” Ada grinned happily, touched that he would be so mindful and thoughtful about that and obviously concerned to take her thoughts and feelings into account. 

After dinner Luche led her upstairs and Ada nearly burst into tears when she found the bed covered in rose petals and the room was glowing in candlelight and she was excited yet nervous to see what he would think about her “gift”. 

“So what did you get me?” Luche asked as Ada damn near was bouncing in place and biting her bottom lip in half to keep her face from splitting in half from the smile that threatened to take over her face as she gave him one of the bags and in it was more cologne, some new ties and shirts and sweaters, some moisturizers, hair products and then inside the larger bag was a smaller bag... _ from a sex toy shop _ and Luche damn near had a giggle fit as he reached in and got the bag before he eagerly opened it and nearly dropped it when he found a box and in that box...was  _ a cock ring set _ . A C ring, a regular cock ring and a vibrating one and Luche’s soul nearly left his body because...that’s how he could please Bethany, Caitlin, Andrea and Olivia in Cancun for a week during spring break and Luche had flashbacks. Shit that had only been six months ago but it felt like a lifetime ago. 

“Too adventurous?” Ada worried. 

“No, no, not at all.” Luche quickly reassured her. 

“What?” Ada asked as she looked at him and studied his face trying to figure out if he was weirded out or anything. 

“Um…” Luche stammered as he frowned in concentration while his face burned. 

“Cor never wore one, if that’s what you’re wondering, I wanted to try something new and spice things up a little.” Ada offered, mentally berating herself for not realizing that that is what it looked like. 

“Oh, uh, no that- that wasn’t...um...going through my head at all.” Luche assured her. 

“You can say you’re uncomfortable with it, it won’t hurt my feelings.” Ada concluded. 

“It’s not that I’m uncomfortable with this or these or anything like that-um, it’s just that I...I know exactly what these are and how they work because I’ve..used them before.” Luche confessed before Ada’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline. 

“With...Vivian?” Ada frowned in confusion, trying to remember who he dated before her. 

“No...with Bethany... in Cancun.” Luche revealed. 

“Ooh!” Ada answered before she started laughing which broke the tension as Luche laughed too. 

“Ok, so...do you never want to use them again? Will they make you think of her while we, if we were to use them?” Ada winced. 

“Well, no, because it’ll be with you.” Luche grinned before he simply put them down to wrap her up in his embrace to kiss her and get them both back in the mood. 

"Don't ever compare yourself to anyone else ok?" Luche insisted as he sensually undressed her before he gently pushed her back into the bed before he put the vibrating one on. 

Ada hissed in pleasure as he entered her and because of the placement it hit her clit just right and Luche grinded himself into her so that the vibrating bit wouldn’t leave her clit and smiled happily when Ada writhed under him as he did his best to commit this to memory so he could please her in the future before he gave her more hickeys on her neck and chest while her newly manicured nails raked down his back, mindful of the few moles on his back and his itchy spots before she prompted him to roll over so she could ride him as Luche laid down and pushed up into her as his hands gripped her hips and pulled her down as Ada rode him and put her hands on his chest to hold herself up as her eyes screwed shut in concentrated bliss as her mouth hung wide open to moan, pant and keen.  

“Lu!” Ada whined as she found the perfect spot and pushed herself down onto it as hard as she could before she came and spasmed on top of him, her legs shaking and her arms buckling while she rode out her orgasm before Luche sat up and gathered her in his arms again and continued to hike his hips up into hers as he kissed her senseless, absolutely determined to get her to a second orgasm because this cock ring was tight and keeping him hard enough that he could last at least two to three intense rounds and by the time they both wore the other out did they collapse in a heap of sweaty limbs and satisfied smiles before Luche took the ring off and set it aside. 

“Yeah I think that worked out well.” Luche panted as he fought to catch his breath. 

“Oh yeah, total win.” Ada giggled as she curled herself into him, her clit still buzzing as her senses were drowning in endorphins.  

“I love you.” Luche grinned proudly as he kissed the crown of her head. 

“Love you too Lu.” Ada cooed back before they fell asleep. 

The next weekend they were all at Craig’s farm since his parents had a better set up to handle a wedding as they were going through dress rehearsals as Craig Sr. grilled some steaks, chicken and pork chops as Chelsea and her team finished setting up all the tents, decorations, chairs and tables. 

“Hey Lu,” Sylva said as she managed to catch him by the punch bowl. 

“Yeah Sly?” Luche answered. 

“I just wanted to let you know that if you happen to get swept up in wedding fever tomorrow and perhaps you were to be moved to propose to Ada, could you just give me a heads up so I’m next to your mother when you do it because I’ve been talking to her for the last hour or so and when I hinted at it she was, understandably, apprehensive to the notion and it’s going to take a lot for her to make peace with that.” Sylva warned him. 

“Yeah…” Luche grimaced. “What do you think it’ll take for mom to come around to the idea?” Luche asked cautiously. 

“A prenup, otherwise she will be the biggest bitch any of us has ever seen.” Sylva answered. 

“Yeah, I figured.” Luche nodded in understanding. 

“Good you’ve made peace with that idea, it’s already drawn up.” Sylva grinned triumphantly. 

“For how long?” Luche frowned. 

“Since May.” Sylva beamed. 

“Really?” Luche deadpanned. 

“Yes really, and once you do I have gifts, they’re already wrapped and the dresses she showed interest in at Kleinfelds are already on hold for her as are a few others.” Sylva revealed. 

“And that’s why you paid her dad extra to come ASAP.” Luche realized as his gaze traveled over to Ada sitting and catching up with her parents who had come just a few days before. 

“Yup, they wouldn’t want to miss it.” Sylva smiled proudly. 

“Do you ever just...take a day off?” Luche teased with a chuckle. 

“No, when you have your kids, you’ll see and understand and you won’t either.” Sylva reminded him with a fond smile. 

“Thank you.” Luche thanked her gratefully before he hugged her as she hugged him back.  

“You’re welcome, now I gotta go tell Chelsea to make the “inlaws” table extra big to include them and I’ll have your mother right next to me so I can keep her from making a scene.” Sylva explained after she pulled away and clued Chelsea in on what would happen as she made the adjustments. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DID NOT ABANDON THIS STORY I SWEAR. I JUST HAD WRITERS BLOCK FOR FOREVER. But nothing like smut to take out the kinks, sadly I'll be updating slower because I'm in school now, but I will get to all of these couples and their weddings if it's the last thing I do.

**Author's Note:**

> Magic and Miracles has been over for not even a whole DAY and here I am, making a new series because THERE'S MORE. SO MUCH MORE OMG. I ain't done yet! lol Thanks for reading.


End file.
